In an Australian first, a disused gold mine in Queensland will be turned into a huge hydro-electric energy system.

The old Kidston gold mine 400km southwest of Cairns has been unveiled as the future site of a $282 million large-scale hydro-electric power plant.

Genex Energy bought the old mine last year, and says it has secured back for the project from a Chinese investor.

Genex managing director Michael Addison says the 330-megawatt hydro-electric plant would provide peak power for the state, jobs for up to 200 construction workers, and new uses for the idle mine’s existing infrastructure.

Addison says the old mine is almost perfect for the job.

“The mine site has two deep pits side by side and is already connected to the electricity grid through an existing transmission line,” he said.

At night, water is pumped from the lower reservoir (Eldridge pit) to the upper reservoir (Wises). During the day, at peak times, it is then released through turbines to provide extra power early in the morning and in the afternoon. If the supply drops due to evaporation or lack of rainfall, the storage can be topped up from the nearby Copperfield Dam.

If the project goes ahead, it will be the first time in Australia that an old mine has been turned into a power plant.

The company believes the development could be fast-tracked, because the site already has a range of existing approvals from its time as an operating mine.

Executive director Simon Kidstone says there is about $300 million worth of useful infrastructure on the site, including road access, existing dams, water, pipeline and electricity frameworks.

Early studies have shown the project should be technically and economically viable, and the company is looking to its 20 center-per-share initial public offering on the ASX to raise $8 million for a detailed feasibility study, and working capital for the next two years.

Chinese investor Zhefu Hydro Power has already put in $3.8 million.

The project hinges on gaining development approval from the Etheridge Shire and the Co-ordinator-General.

Both tiers of government have reportedly given their support to the development so far, and Genex has plotted a timeline that would see construction to start in the first quarter of 2017 and operations at the end of 2018.