One of the world’s richest vanadium resource regions has been opened for competitive tender after the Queensland Government released new exploration areas across the state.
The state government has launched a competitive tender process for six exploration sites, including two vanadium areas northeast of Julia Creek that host one of the largest known vanadium resources globally.
The two vanadium areas cover approximately 269 km². In addition, the government is releasing four potential coal exploration sites covering around 235 km² across the Bowen and Surat basins.
The land release program also includes 12 petroleum and gas areas totalling more than 7000 km² across the Bowen/Surat and Cooper/Eromanga basins.
“Exploration is where every major project begins and without it, there is no pipeline of future supply,” Minister Last said.
“This release is part of a broader plan to ensure Queensland continues building its pipeline of petroleum, gas, coal and mineral projects, delivering long-term energy security and economic growth.”
Queensland Resources Council chief executive officer Janette Hewson said the release of new exploration land would help address a prolonged shortage of new opportunities in the state.
“Land releases are an important step forward and must be supported with the right policy settings to attract investment and progress projects to production.
“The state government is taking steps to review policy settings, reflected in improved sentiment toward Queensland in the Fraser Institute Report 2025 (ranking 13th).”