Meeting Ian Hartnell
Last week Dr. Christoph Beyer (Managing Director), Mark Christmas (Supply Chain Manager) and Suren Dias-Jayasinha (Head of Sales & Marketing) had the pleasure of meeting Ian Hartnell.
Ian was instrumental in establishing the QMAG business over 30 years ago when he was initially engaged as a consultant from Bank of America and then shortly afterwards as the Deputy Managing Director of Queensland Metals Corporation, responsible for all commercial matters, directly working for QMAG’s founder Ian Howard-Smith. Ian regaled us with stories from the heady times in the 1980s and 1990s as Queensland Metals Corporation established QMAG as a viable business and a producer of the highest quality refractory products from one of the largest crypto-crystalline magnesite deposits in the world.
AWIC Awards 2026
QMAG took out Large Business of the Year at the 2026 AWIC - Awesome Women in Construction Awards in Brisbane on 4 September, and our emissions reduction officer, Dr John McGrath, was named Male Advocate of Change!
Fitzroy River Water Partnership
Since 2019, QMAG has proudly partnered with Fitzroy River Water, supplying our magnesium oxide for use in treating water sourced from the Fitzroy River in Rockhampton.
Yaamba Drilling Campaign
Our current drilling campaign across the Yaamba tenements is progressing well, delivering high-quality data on ore grade, deposit geometry, and overburden ratios across this extension of the world’s largest known cryptocrystalline magnesite deposit.
Indonesia Critical Minerals Conference 2026
We are pleased to announce that QMAG, together with our colleagues from Refratechnik Group Holding, Refratechnik Asia and Baymag Inc., will be participating in the Indonesia Critical Minerals Conference (ICM 2026) in Jakarta, 3–5 June 2026.
AWIC 2026 Site Visit
QMAG was proud to host another visit from the AWIC - Awesome Women in Construction Roadshow on 15 May 2026, welcoming thirteen Year 10 students from The Cathedral College (TCC), Rockhampton, along with employment and manufacturing professionals. AWIC (awic.org.au) is a Queensland-based not-for-profit organisation with a national footprint, dedicated to championing meaningful careers for women in the construction and related manufacturing industries.
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