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PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Association of Mining & Exploration Companies (AMEC) has welcomed the Queensland government’s announcement of a A$600 000 investment in exploration.
Natural Resources and Mines Minister Dr Anthony Lynham on Wednesday said seven mineral and resource companies had gained more than A$600 000 in total to support drilling projects for copper, lead, zinc, silver and gold.
“A mix of junior and internationally renowned companies will start work this month, with positive flow-on effects for local business and communities,” he said.
“Boosting investment in exploration is a way of maintaining the pipeline of metals production from the North West mineral province to eventually replace older mines.”
The Minister noted that the North West Mineral Province Taskforce had identified this as a priority.
Companies benefiting from the cofunded drilling campaign include Teck Australia, Yappar Resources, Ripple Resources, Red Metal and Footprint Resources.
The funds will be sourced from the long-running collaborative drilling initiative, which has supported almost A$27-million worth of exploration in remote areas of the state, including the north-west.
“Funding through the collaborative drilling initiative enables companies to undertake projects in frontier areas, projects that may have never seen the light of day due to the costs and risks involved in exploring in remote areas,” Lynham said.
“These explorers are seeking new discoveries in areas that are deeper and more difficult to explore than in the past, using the best science available.”
AMEC CEO Simon Bennison said the government’s investment demonstrated much-needed support for Queensland’s mining and mineral exploration sector.
“The cofunded drilling scheme helps companies take on the risk of exploring for minerals in the greenfields parts of Queensland. The support for seven mineral companies’ drilling projects for copper, lead, zinc, silver and gold will have a broader impact on the community.”
Bennison pointed out that independent research in relation to the Western Australian scheme has highlighted the value of exploration incentive schemes, with the effect of A$1-million invested leading to a cumulative increase of exploration expenditure of A$19.8-million.
“The evaluation of the South Australian Plan for Accelerating Exploration incentive between 2004 and 2013 has shown that an investment in precompetitive geoscientific data and collaborative programmes such as this can provide returns on investment over 20:1.”
“The investment made in cofunded drilling schemes by the Queensland government shares the cost of drilling and makes it easier for companies exploring greenfield areas to decide to drill and discover the mines of tomorrow,” Bennison said.
“Each new mine creates thousands of jobs and generates significant economic and social dividends for the State and regional communities. The mines of tomorrow have to be discovered to replace the existing producing mines.”