Queensland's last productive uranium mine will be reopened under a plan to resume mining the resource in the state.

The Newman government is restarting uranium mining, ending a long-standing ban, and hopes to exploit reserves worth about $10 billion, including $8 billion in the state's northwest.

Mary Kathleen uranium mine.

Uranium mining was banned in Queensland in 1989, but it hasn't been mined since 1982 when the Mary Kathleen mine, near Mount Isa, ceased production.

On Friday the government said it was inviting tenders to reopen the mine, saying the uranium industry promised to create new jobs and economic opportunities for the state.