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JANUARY 10, 2025
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Golden casket
REVEALED: Secret study about refinery at Cairns Airport
A secret proposal to refine gold at Cairns Airport also involved tourism, sales and trading opportunities. It never progressed from a scoping study. Picture: iStock/Samafoto
l AEROGLEN | Nick Dalton A SECRET report that outlined the establishment of a gold refinery at Cairns Airport was later knocked back by Queensland Treasury officials. The scoping study – seen by Cairns Local News – was fund-
ed by the Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI) and Cairns Regional Council in 2011 and looked at ways gold flown to Cairns from Papua New Guinea could be processed at an airport-based refinery. The report was never made public. It is understood most of PNG’s gold is refined at the
Perth Mint – more than 4000km from mines in PNG. It takes nearly 10 hours by aircraft, yet Cairns is 1300km from PNG, with a flight time of 1.5 hours. The proposal, not only looked at a refinery at Cairns Airport, but associated value-added ventures such as coin manufacturing, gold trading and storage, jewellery sales and tourism.
According to the 2023-24 annual report of the Gold Corporation – the owners of the Perth Mint – it turned over $25.37 billion a year with 82,883 visitors and employs more than 700 people. The tourism aspect of the business is in the Perth CBD while the refinery is at Perth Airport. Currently mining and pro-
cessing of gold is undertaken at mine sites where the gold is melted into doré bars containing up to 90 per cent gold. Doré bars are then sent to an external refinery to be refined to pure gold. The Perth Mint in Western Australia is Australia’s largest gold refinery.
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Soil disease warning l FAR NORTH FAR North Queenslanders are being asked to be extra vigilant when coming into contact with soil and muddy water, following a spike in cases of a dangerous disease in the Cairns region after recent rainfall. There have been eight cases of melioidosis notified in the Cairns and Hinterland region within the past week. This is a high number of cases and a concern considering the wet season is not in full swing. Melioidosis is a serious disease found in ground water and soil. It causes death in up to 50 per cent of untreated cases and up to 20 per cent of treated cases. Early recognition and treatment are important. Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service Tropical Public Health Services director Dr Jacqueline Murdoch said heavy rainfall brought the melioidosis bacteria Burkholderia pseudomallei into surface water and soil. She said disease could occur when skin abrasions or wounds came into contact with wet soil or water, or by breathing in dust or droplets, especially during storms, or spray from high pressure hoses. “Melioidosis adversely affects people with additional health issues such as diabetes, kidney problems and lung problems,” Dr Murdoch said. CONTINUED PAGE 3
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