Skills shortage could hamper new mining developments in North Queensland, industry says

Australia has 18% of the world's supply of vanadium, an element used in steelmaking and battery storage, but lacks the workforce to expand

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A plan to create a global minerals hub in north-west Queensland could be undermined by a lack of highly skilled workers, industry experts have warned.

Queensland resources minister Scott Stewart travelled to the UK last week with the aim of promoting Queensland as a global minerals hub to investors, focusing on the expansion of the vanadium industry, a mineral that is used in steel alloys and creating batteries for renewable energy.

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