Royalties agreement reached on Queensland’s Carmichael mine

India’s Adani Group says that it has signed a royalties agreement with the Queensland government concerning the Carmichael mine project.

The deal will allow the mining company to defer payment of royalties on the Carmichael mine in central Queensland for an unspecified period. The agreement is the second of its type in Queensland, which will allow a resources company to defer its royalties payment.

Treasurer Cameron Dick says that both when the company would start to pay royalties and how much revenue the state would collect were commercial in confidence.

“But I can assure you that Adani will pay every dollar in royalties that they have to pay to the people of Queensland - with interest," he says.

"That's absolutely locked in now, and that is something that we've concluded as a government. These terms are consistent with the resources regional development framework that formed the basis of the agreement with the Century zinc mine last year."

Dick adds that the agreement sets out how much the controversial £1.11 billion coal mine project is required to pump into the Queensland economy, once it is up and running.

An Adnai spokesperson says that the Carmichael project will generate billions in mining taxes and royalties that will go to the Australian and Queensland governments over the first 30-years of operations.

“Consistent with the Queensland Treasurer’s comments on October 1, 2020, we can confirm that the royalties agreement has been signed by both Adani and the Palaszczuk Government. The Carmichael project will generate billions in mining taxes and royalties that go to the Australian and Queensland governments in the first 30-years of operations. This money will help build schools, hospitals and roads for Queensland,” the spokesperson says.

The spokesperson adds that construction of the mine and rail is well underway, with more than 1,500 now employed and more than £1.16 billion in contracts awarded on the mine project.

“More than 88 percent of our contracts are being delivered in Queensland and have been spread across all corners of the state to give as many regions as possible the opportunity to benefit from our project, while also enabling us to tap into the highly-skilled construction and resources industry workforce that Queensland possess.”

The statement highlights that mining has cushioned Queensland and Western Australian economies from the worst of the devastating economic impact of the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Construction of the Carmichael Project is on track to produce coal in 2021, the spokesperson confirms.