Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) has invested A$4.5 million (US$2.92 million) in Ark Mines to support the Australian miner’s rare earths project.
The investment was made through its $150 million QIC Critical Minerals and Battery Technology Fund, which focuses on mineral miners and battery technology firms, QIC says in a statement on August 25.
Sydney-based Ark Mines’ Sandy Mitchell Rare Earths Project, located 230 kilometres northwest of the city of Cairns in Queensland, has resources that include rare earth elements such as terbium and dysprosium.
According to Jonathan Crombie, QIC’s senior investment director, the project has the potential to be “a strategically significant, long-life asset producing essential rare earth elements outside of Asia”.
“As the world accelerates its transition to net zero, the need for secure and sustainable sources of rare earths has become a strategic priority for governments and industries globally,” he says.
QIC, the investment arm of the Queensland state government, has around A$130 billion of assets under management.
