Investment Opportunities in Northern Queensland

Transcription

1 Investment Opportunities in Northern Queensland

2 Queensland: Leading Australia s vision for the future. 2 Investment opportunities in Northern Queensland

3 Foreword Queenslanders have had a long and successful record of working with companies and investors from around the world to develop the north of our state. We have already achieved a great deal in terms of developing North Queensland, as evidenced by the strength of the region s resources and agribusiness and tourism sectors, the quality of lifestyle in our tropical cities and the strength of our educational institutions. But we know there are many more opportunities to be explored in North Queensland, given its abundant arable land and water. The Queensland Government s global business agency, Trade & Investment Queensland is actively working with proponents and potential investors alike to identify and qualify new investment opportunities in the region. We currently have a pipeline of nearly 30 projects at various stages of consideration. Ten of them are investment ready, which you can read about in the following pages. They range from aquaculture and agribusiness projects to a biofuels plant and tungsten mines. We welcome your future interest and support in our determined efforts to continue to develop our tropical north. Andrew Tulloch Chief Executive Officer Trade & Investment Queensland Investment opportunities in Northern Queensland 3

4 Why Northern Queensland? Northern Queensland, Australia is a place of great investment opportunities, ideas and innovation. Located on Asia s doorstep, this region is a gateway to supplying the Asia-Pacific s fastest growing economies. Home to an abundance of natural resources and boasting world renowned agricultural, mining, energy and tourism industries, Northern Queensland offers endless opportunities for growth. The region is well connected to global and domestic markets and supply chains with an established transport and logistics network combined with planned infrastructure upgrades. Northern Queensland is: An area renowned for its clean and green food production One of the world s great cattle nurseries, producing large high quality, healthy herds of prime beef cattle Host to the natural wonders of the Great Barrier Reef, Whitsunday Islands and the Daintree Rainforest, drawing thousands of international visitors annually Part of a rich and healthy marine ecology with an advanced, sustainable aquaculture industry Strong in resource and energy wealth, with significant reserves of coal, metals, phosphate rock, rare earths, oil shale and minerals A developing region for gourmet products including vanilla bean, tropical fruits, coffee and chocolate An internationally iconic sugar growing region, with farmers producing some of the highest sugar yields in the world A place of enormous potential to lead the production of renewable energy and a bio industries sector Underpinned by world leading tropical knowledge, producing cutting-edge innovations and solutions to the challenges of the tropics Supported by a world class education and research sector led by James Cook University, and Home to major strategic defence and supply hubs, providing extensive opportunities for industry. TIQ helping create business opportunities As the Queensland Government s global business agency, Trade & Investment Queensland connects international investors with Queensland businesses and helps local companies to access overseas markets. We do this through our network of highly experienced, internationally based Trade & Investment Commissioners based across Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and North America. 4 Investment opportunities in Northern Queensland

5 Map of Investment Opportunities 1 Davco - Dingo Park Feedlot and Meat Processing Facility Page 6 Weipa Cape Flattery Integrated Energy Facility Page 7 Pentland Biofuels Project Page 8 Etheridge Integrated Agriculture Precinct Page 9 Finfish Enterprise Page 10 Watershed Tungsten Project Page 11 Mount Carbine Tungsten Mine Page 12 Dicalcium Phosphate Project Page 13 Wongai Hard Coking Coal Project Page 14 Kidston Pump Storage Hydro Project Page Cairns Karumba Mourilyan Lucinda 1 Townsville Mt Isa Cloncurry 8 Charters Towers 3 Hughenden Abbot Point Mackay Hay Point Winton Moranbah Longreach Barcaldine Emerald Rockhampton Port Alma TROPIC OF CAPRICORN Gladstone Bundaberg Maryborough Key International Airport Quilpie Charleville Roma Sunshine Coast Domestic Airport Ports Cunnamulla Toowoomba Brisbane Roads State rail network Goondiwindi Gold Coast

6 Food & Agriculture Davco Dingo Park Feedlot and Meat Processing Facility Investment required Timeframe Davco Agriculture Agriculture - Beef Integrated cattle feedlot, farming and beef processing facility Townsville, Queensland Joint Venture/Acquisition AUD$20.8 million Situated in one of the world s largest cattle breeding locations, Dingo Park is ideally positioned to capture the growing Asian demand for quality beef. The facility includes: 2,306 hectares on freehold titles Existing feedlot pen capacity of 10,000 with plans to increase to 30,000 cattle. Potential to produce over 100,000 quality cattle per year. Recently constructed grain/feed storage using the latest technology for optimal feed structure and low operating costs 526 hectares of efficient center pivot irrigation area to supply high quality and high protein Rhodes grass for the feedlot hay requirements Located in a clean and low populated environment Access to secure water supply Close proximity to the Port of Townsville which has both live cattle and cold storage capabilities for processed beef Access to supply of lower cost cattle and grain Large scale feedlot to support both live export and abattoir Strategically located close to transport infrastructure and support services Few competitors in the region Potential for investor to secure offtake agreements for both beef and live cattle Available now Davco Agriculture has extensive experience in the Australian agricultural industry and is one of the largest and most successful sugar cane companies in Australia. Davco is internationally recognised as a leader in state of the art mechanised sugarcane production and has developed and introduced a number of technologies to the global sugarcane industry. 6 Investment opportunities in Northern Queensland

7 Food & Agriculture Integrated Energy Facility Investment required North Queensland Bio-Energy Corporation Limited (NQBE) Agriculture and Energy Sugarcane Processing, Power Generation and Ethanol Facility Ingham, Queensland Equity Total project cost is AUD$520 million Equity required is AUD$210million This state-of-the-art facility will be the first of its kind in Australia and features: Production of 355,000 tonnes of sugar annually for the international sugar market (approximately 8% of Australia s current sugar production); Generation of between mw per hour of renewable power; 46,000 to 50,000 tonnes of high value protein feed; and 60mL ethanol annually from 2nd generation cellulosic technology Sourcing and using the most productive sugar cane strains from around the world for both sugar and ethanol production Strong return on investment on all pricing scenarios; 10 Year Cane Supply Agreements in place, guaranteeing supply of the renewable biomass feed stocks; Use of proven 2nd generation cellulosic ethanol production technology; Federal and State government regulatory development approvals in place; The most modern sugar mill and electricity cogeneration facility in Australia; A range of value added by-products including bio-plastics and high value bio-degradable chemicals; Innovative technologies used in every stage of the processing; Experienced senior management team with expertise among the whole value chain Proximity to major transport infrastructure including ports. Timeframe 2014: Design Complete : Construction June 2017: Operational North Queensland Bio-Energy Corporation Limited is a Queensland based company, planning the construction of a $520 million sugar (raw & white), ethanol and power generation facility in Ingham, North Queensland. Investment opportunities in Northern Queensland 7

8 Food & Agriculture Pentland Biofuels Project Investment required Timeframe Renewable Developments Australia Bio-Energy Biomass and Ethanol Production Between Charters Towers and Pentland, Queensland Greenfield AUD$558 Million Establishment of a facility at stage one includes: 18,500 hectare irrigated sugar cane and sorghum plantation 140 million litres per annum first generation ethanol production plant 160 million litres per annum second generation (cellulosic) ethanol plant 1.8 Million tonnes crushing and processing plant 450,000 tonnes of lignin 200,000 tonnes biomass (lignin) pellet plant Renewable energy power plant using lignin to produce 25MW of electricity to support the project Port storage and offloading facility Profitable business model incorporating integrated farm and production facility Use of proven high performance technology Project is designed to ensure best practice environmental performance and long term sustainability Strong internal rate of return Experienced management Strong exportable products to meet future global demand for renewable fuels and bi-products 60 year lease of 67,000 hectares of cane production land 2014: Design Completed 2015: Commence construction 2017: Expected production Renewable Developments Australia Pty Ltd (RDA) is a development company founded in 2004, with a focus on projects associated with the delivery of renewable energy. RDA has the technical expertise and project management skills for the development and delivery of a variety of renewable energy projects. 8 Investment opportunities in Northern Queensland

9 Food & Agriculture Etheridge Integrated Agriculture Precinct Investment required Integrated Food and Energy Developments Pty Ltd (IFED) Agriculture and Energy Integrated Farming and Processing Facility Georgetown, Etheridge Shire, Queensland Greenfield Round One (pre-construction): AUD$15 million Round Two (construction): ~AUD$1 billion (Equity) & ~AUD$850m (Debt) Facility includes: 2 million megalitre water off-river water storage capacity; Permanent, tradable, 555,000 megalitre mean annual diversion water allocation; 65,000 hectare sugar cane and guar bean farm drip tape irrigated; 4.8 million tonne per year cane mill producing 700,000 per year tonnes of raw sugar; 32,000 tonne per year modified guar gum mill; 90 MW power station (43 MW export); 400,000 tonne per year pellet mill; 200,000 head per year meat processing plant 53,000 tonne (hides and offal); and 7,500 tonne per year redclaw. Opportunity for investors to secure offtake agreements; Vertically integrated, value added processing with optimum use of by-products; Modern, purpose-built and fully integrated (on farm) processing facilities delivering high return; Efficiency, low cost products with diverse revenue streams; Abundant and reliable water supply; and Underlying asset base (contiguous irrigated land and permanent water allocation). Timeframe Round 1 (pre-construction): 18 months Round 2 (construction): 36 months Estimated first full year of production: 2019/2020 IFED specialises in creating successful, large scale, integrated, agricultural precincts in Australia. Their focus is on privately funded, large scale, highly efficient and integrated projects that deliver high quality irrigated broad-acre farmland and co-located processing to meet the world s growing demand for food. Investment opportunities in Northern Queensland 9

10 Food & Agriculture Finfish Enterprise Finfish Enterprise Aquaculture Aquaculture facility: Grouper breeding, hatchery and nursery using advanced breeding technologies Cairns, Queensland Equity and or Debt Investment required Stage One: AUD$4 million (working capital and establishment of domestic growout) Stage Two: AUD$8 million (expand hatchery, build RAS, purchase pond farm) Stage Three: AUD$10 million (international expansion) Timeframe Finfish is well positioned to take advantage of the increased global demand for seafood and is driven to develop innovations in the aquaculture industry to provide viable and sustainable products for the future. Finfish is seeking investment to firstly establish a domestic business and then expand internationally. The company will leverage its intellectual property (IP) by: - Developing growout facilities to supply finfish for consumption domestically and internationally; - Supplying fingerlings to vertically integrated growout facilities; - Supply fingerlings to global producers; and - Transfer of IP to global markets. Strong demand domestically and internationally Sustainable production practices World class breeding technology generating increased production and strong survival rates Experienced management including one of the world s leading experts in Grouper aquaculture Potential for investor to secure offtake agreements Available now Finfish Enterprise Pty Ltd (Finfish) operates the Northern Fisheries Centre (NFC) a tropical marine finfish breeding facility in Cairns, Queensland with a focus on technology and innovation. This facility is a world class tropical marine finfish hatchery that has developed unique systems and processes to achieve year-round spawning and availability of eggs and larvae. The facility breeds four species of fish from the Grouper family; Giant, Gold Spot, Tiger, and Coral Trout. 10 Investment opportunities in Northern Queensland

11 Mining & Resources Watershed Tungsten Project Investment required Timeframe Vital Metals Ltd trading as North Queensland Tungsten Pty Ltd Resources Rare Metals Tungsten Mine North-West of Cairns, Queensland Existing Project AUD $172 million Definitive Feasibility Study has confirmed a 2.5Mtpa operation will deliver high-quality tungsten concentrate over an initial mine life of approximately 10 years Project is fully permitted with Mining Leases, Environmental Authority and Indigenous Land Use Agreement in place Simple open cut mining operation Solid exploration history and significant potential to add additional life to the proposed mine development Project is close to supporting infrastructure The Watershed deposit ranks among the 10 largest unexploited tungsten deposits in the world outside of China Strong Joint Venture Partners and off-take interest Increase global use and demand for Tungsten Experienced management team Solid return on investment Available now Vital Metals Limited is a tungsten producer and ASX listed company focused on the development of a Watershed scheelite project in Queensland. Vital Metals has formed a joint venture with JOGMEC (Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation) to partner on the Watershed project. Investment opportunities in Northern Queensland 11

12 Mining & Resources Mount Carbine Tungsten Mine Investment required Timeframe Carbine Tungsten Limited Resources Rare Metals Tungsten Mine North-West of Cairns, Queensland Existing Project USD$50 million for the Hard Rock Open pit Project Opportunity to invest in what will be the largest Tungsten mine in Australia with a known resource of 47 million tonnes. Contribute to growing global demand for Tungsten with expected production of approximately 760 tonnes per annum from stockpile and 2700 tonnes per annum (WO3) from open pit phase. Production will consist of tailings, stockpile processing and open pit phases. Estimated mine life of approximately years. The project is on granted Mining Leases with power, water, tailings storage and Environmental Approval in place for the first stage of production. Tungsten is major strategic metal critical to a wide-range of manufacturing uses. Return on investment. Project already has one major global investor. Significant offtake opportunity. Environmental approvals are in place from tailing and stockpile processing. The site has existing power and water and a town close to the mine site providing a ready pool of employees and accommodation. Available now Carbine Tungsten Limited has become a tungsten concentrate producer from its flagship project, the Mt Carbine Tungsten Mine, in Far North Queensland. Carbine Tungsten s aim of becoming one of the leading western producers of tungsten concentrate will be achieved through its Tailings Retreatment Project which commenced production in 2012 along with the re-awakening of the Hard Rock open-cut mine. 12 Investment opportunities in Northern Queensland

13 Food & Agriculture Dicalcium Phosphate Project Direct International Food Supplies Pty Ltd Agricultural Products Dicalcium Phosphate Production Plant Charters Towers, Queensland Equity and or Debt Investment required Stage One & Two: AUD$60 million Stage Three: AUD$30 million Timeframe The plant will produce two essential animal feed ingredients: Dicalcium Phosphate (DCP) and Monocalcium Phosphate (MCP) which play a large role in the livestock and agricultural sectors The by-product also produces fertiliser for use in agriculture and farming Annual DCP production of 30,000t with capacity of up to 90,000t By-Product (Fertiliser) production of 60,000t and up to 180,000t per annum This facility will be the first production facility in Australia with the ability to meet local demand for Australia s large livestock and land cultivation industries Major export potential to neighbouring countries in the Asia Pacific Increased worldwide agricultural and livestock production as well as limited global availability has created a high demand for these products Management team with strong knowledge and experience in the global Dicalcium Phosphate industry with an existing prototype plant located in the Middle East A solution for both the Australian raw material suppliers/mining companies (rock phosphate, sulphuric acid, limestone) and consumers (farmers) Situated close to raw materials and surrounding infrastructure that enables access to domestic and international supply chains Potential for investor to secure an offtake agreement Long term commercial viability of the project Available now Direct International Food Supplies Pty Ltd has over 17 years experience in manufacturing animal feed products for the agricultural sector and has previously designed, built and operated a similar operation in the middle east. The company has undertaken extensive study and research to determine the viability of a DCP plant in Australia. Investment opportunities in Northern Queensland 13

14 Mining & Resources Wongai Hard Coking Coal Project Investment required Timeframe Bounty Mining Ltd Resources Metallurgical Coal Mine Laura Basin, North Queensland Equity Cornerstone minimum investment of $AUD2.5million at 2.5cps to take minimum 12% share in Bounty. Under a farm-in joint venture Bounty is increasing its ownership of the Wongai Hard Coking Coal Project - Phase 1: completed Bounty has earned 5% equity in Joint Venture; Phase 2: Bounty moves to 22.5% equity upon completion of prefeasibility by end August 2015; Phase 3: Bounty moves to 48% equity upon completion of EIS and feasibility study; Potential to grow project equity beyond 51% during construction phase. Bounty Wongai Hard Coking Coal Project Large resource of high quality hard coking coal (77Mt of JORC 2012 resources, 27Mt of Exploration target and further undefined resources). Coking properties confirmed by lab testing. Shallowest underground coking coal development project in Australia, 15km from the coast affording low mining costs, transport costs, opex and capex; Low environmental impact: no dredging, no sea dumping; Indigenous Land Use Agreement in place & Kalpowar landowners JV partner; Bounty owns a fleet of mining equipment suitable for the project and 8 years operating experience; Early exposure and leverage as project progresses from concept through to construction; In addition to project equity Bounty has life of mine management rights with 16% management fees. Close raising by end of June 2015 so as to complete prefeasibility stage by end of August Bounty Mining is a coal mine developer and an experienced underground coal mine contractor with more than 8 years operating experience in coal mines in Qld and NSW. The company is listed on the ASX. 14 Investment opportunities in Northern Queensland

15 Energy Kidston Pump Storage Hydro Project Investment required Timeframe Genex Power Limited Renewable Energy Pumped storage hydroelectric power project. 330MW of rapid response, flexible power for delivery into Australia s National Electricity Market. The project is a highly efficient form of large scale energy storage, which is complementary to the growth of intermittent renewable energy generation such as solar and wind. 280km West of Townsville Brown field development project finance AUD 282 million Electricity energy generation in a pumped storage scheme works much like conventional hydroelectric schemes. In periods of high demand, electricity is generated when water is released from an upper reservoir through turbine generators and into a lower reservoir. Unlike conventional hydroelectric schemes, the water is not discharged from the lower reservoir but is instead pumped back to the upper reservoir during off-peak hours by drawing electricity from the grid (ie similar to the Wivenhoe Pump Storage and Snowy s Tumut 3). Long life infrastructure asset benefiting from the growth of renewable energy and rising gas prices in Queensland. Low capital costs, due to use of existing infrastructure The project has a number of existing permits and approvals, potentially fast tracking the approval process Strong revenue outlook, benefiting from rising gas prices and volatility in wholesale electricity markets. Approx. A$300 million of debt and equity project finance to fund construction will be sought during 2016 Genex Power is a power generation development company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. Its flagship Kidston pumped storage hydroelectric scheme is in feasibility stage and is expected to commence production in Genex has a board and management team with strong track record in the power industry and project development. Investment opportunities in Northern Queensland 15

16 tiq.info@tiq.qld.gov.au Trade & Investment Queensland Copyright: The State of Queensland Copyright protects this material. Disclaimer: The information presented in this booklet is distributed by the Queensland Government as an information source only. The State of Queensland makes no statements, representations, or warranties about the accuracy or completeness of, and you should not rely on, any information contained in this publication. The Queensland Government disclaims all responsibility and all liability (including without limitation, liability in negligence) for all expenses, losses, damages and costs you might incur as a result of the information being inaccurate or incomplete in any way, and for any reason. Any reference to any specific organisation, product or service does not constitute or imply its endorsement or recommendation by the State of Queensland. TIQ