A shared test facility for critical-minerals processing has opened in Townsville, with Queensland saying it will help companies validate methods before building their own large demonstration plants.
The Queensland Government said on 23 October that the Resources Common User Facility gives project developers access to specialised equipment for scaled testing. The site will initially focus on vanadium processing and may later support other minerals, including cobalt and rare earth elements.
According to the announcement, Vecco Group is the foundation customer and plans to use the facility to validate a process for turning vanadium-bearing ore into a high-purity product for vanadium flow batteries.
The state links the facility to a $146.1 million critical-minerals investment in its 2026-27 budget. Opening the site does not mean every proposed mineral project has reached commercial production; its stated purpose is to reduce technical risk while processes are tested.
Image: AI-generated editorial illustration of a generic processing pilot plant. It is not a photograph of the Townsville facility, its equipment or its output.
