The Resources Centre of Excellence has officially opened the Flexi-Lab at its Stage 2 Future Industries Hub in Mackay, adding a new pilot-scale minerals processing facility to the organisation’s growing role in training, innovation and industry collaboration across Central Queensland.
The $5.7 million facility was funded by the Queensland Government and launched with project partners, industry representatives and government officials, including Sean Dillon, Assistant Minister for Primary Industry Development, Water and Western.
Located within the Future Industries Hub, the Flexi-Lab has been developed as a common-user facility where industry, researchers and innovators can test, validate and refine mineral processing methods. The facility is designed to support tailings reprocessing and beneficiation, critical minerals recovery, process optimisation and flowsheet development, equipment testing and validation, applied research and workforce training.
RCOE Chief Executive Officer Steven Boxall said the opening marked the culmination of five years of vision, partnership and determination.
“Flexi-Lab is more than a new facility. It’s a visible and practical step in strengthening Australia’s sovereign capability in critical minerals,” Steven said.
“If Australia is serious about secure supply chains and downstream processing, we need more than resource deposits. We need shared infrastructure, pilot-scale capability and coordinated industry collaboration. FlexiLab delivers exactly that.”
The project was delivered through collaboration between RCOE, the University of Queensland’s Sustainable Minerals Institute, Core Resources and DGH, with Mackay Regional Council also acknowledged for delivering the Future Industries Hub building and supporting the wider RCOE vision over the past five years.
The Flexi-Lab is intended to provide a pilot-scale environment between laboratory testing and commercial deployment, giving industry a technically robust, lower-risk setting to test recovery strategies, improve processing performance and validate new approaches before larger-scale investment.
The Mackay-Isaac region already produces close to $50 billion in mining output annually and supports thousands of highly skilled jobs. Steven said the Flexi-Lab builds on that industrial strength to create a bridge between traditional resource extraction and advanced processing.
“This is about improving productivity and unlocking new economic opportunity from the regions outwards.
“By providing a genuine common-user facility, we are de-risking investment, accelerating innovation and creating new pathways for jobs, skills and value-adding right here in regional Queensland.”
The official opening also marks the beginning of operational readiness, with industry pilot campaigns, collaborative research programs and training initiatives set to commence through the facility. RCOE is now inviting interest from organisations looking to tour the Flexi-Lab, explore partnership opportunities or enquire about final tenancy opportunities within the Future Industries Hub.
