Esmeralda Graphite project

Project overview*

EIS status	EIS active
Description	Greenfield graphite mine and processing plant, extracting up to 3.5 million tonnes per annum of ore to produce approximately 25 million tonnes of graphite concentrate over a 50 year project life.
Proponent	Qld Aus Graphite Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Graphinex Pty Ltd
Location/s	70 kilometres south of Croydon, Queensland. Map
Local government/s	Croydon Shire Council
Investment	$666.4 million capital expenditure
Key features	open-cut graphite mine and processing facilities solar array and energy storage system with back-up diesel generation water management infrastructure mine infrastructure area, mine and product stockpiles and loading areas access road and internal tracks accommodation facility, sewage and waste management infrastructure.
Construction start date	2027
Jobs	100 (construction) 113 (operational)

* Project information supplied by proponent and subject to change.

Date	Activity
Currently	Draft EIS being prepared by proponent.
29 September 2025	Terms of reference for EIS ( 791.1 KB) released.
11 July 2025	Gazettal ( 242.9 KB) of 'coordinated project' declaration
2 July 2025	Application, including initial advice statement ( 14.0 MB) submitted
23 June 2025	Australian Minister for the Environment and Water decided the project is not a ‘controlled action’ A project that has the potential to have a significant impact on matters of national environmental significance is called a 'controlled action' and requires approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth).