The Queensland Government has welcomed an offtake agreement that will see US tin refiner Nathan Trotter & Co purchase up to 100 per cent of production from Huntore Australia’s Mount Garnet polymetallic operation in far north Queensland.
In a media release, the Queensland Government said the agreement would strengthen critical minerals supply chain links between Queensland and the United States, with the Mount Garnet operation expected to produce up to 3,000 tonnes of tin per year.
Huntore employs up to 25 staff through local contractors at its Mount Garnet operations, located about 100 kilometres southwest of Cairns.
Queensland Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Dale Last said the agreement demonstrated the state’s efforts to expand its role in global critical minerals supply chains.
“We know that investment follows confidence and this agreement is exactly what happens when the government delivers a stable regulatory environment that companies can invest in,” Last said.
Last said Queensland’s critical minerals strategy and a $146 million allocation in the 2026-27 state Budget would support the extraction, processing and export of critical minerals.
“With 51 of the world’s critical minerals, more than $1 trillion in resource potential, thousands of highly skilled workers and a government that genuinely wants to see resources projects get off the ground, Queensland is quickly becoming a globally competitive investment location for critical minerals development,” he said.
The government said the agreement followed Last’s US trade mission in early 2025 and the Premier’s trade mission to the US in August 2026.
Huntore Australia chairman Jim Moonier said the company’s negotiations with Nathan Trotter were supported by Queensland’s environmental, social and governance standards.
“A big selling point in our negotiations with Nathan Trotter was Queensland’s strong international reputation for environmental, social and governance standards (ESG),” Moonier said.
“Queensland is a good place to do business in because we have a stable operating environment and a government that is willing to work with industry.”
Moonier said he hoped the agreement would lead to further opportunities for the Mount Garnet polymetallic operation.
The Crisafulli Government said it would continue supporting projects aimed at increasing Queensland’s critical minerals extraction, processing and export capacity.
