23 May 2019

SARAH COURTNEY MP

2019-20 Budget: Mining funding to underpin continued exploration, growth

The mining and minerals processing sectors are key pillars of economic growth in Tasmania.

These industries employ more than 5,600 Tasmanians, and in the 12 months to the end of March 2019 produced over 55 per cent of the State’s mercantile export value.

To maintain the momentum of this important industry and to invest for growth, the Hodgman Liberal Government will continue supporting a number of initiatives to stimulate further growth in the sector.

Continued greenfield mineral exploration is vital for the long term future of Tasmania’s mineral resources industry, and we are continuing our 2018-2019 budget commitment of $2 million over four years for the Exploration Drilling Grant Initiative (EDGI).

The initiative is a co-funded program which provides grants of up to $50,000 for direct drilling costs and $20,000 for helicopter support, if required, for successful applicants who are exploring for new mineral targets.

Two of the expected four rounds of funding have been announced, with 10 successful applicants in round one, and 11 successful applicants in round two sharing up to $900,000 worth of the co-funded drilling grants.

We have also continued our 2016-2017 budget commitment of $1.4 million over four years to the Geoscience Initiative Program, aimed at reducing mineral exploration risk and attracting additional investment through the provision of improved geoscience information.

This initiative allows Mineral Resources Tasmania to provide new data and refined data sets to underpin the next generation of mineral exploration.

The Hodgman Liberal Government has also continued our 2017-2018 budget commitment of $1 million over four years to the Mining Sector Innovation Initiative to support projects which address environmental, geoscience, and natural hazard issues in the State.

The initiative is the result of discussions with the University of Tasmania and the Tasmanian Minerals and Energy Council (TMEC) who will collaborate in many of the projects.

Projects have already commenced in geoscience, natural hazard (landslip), acid mine drainage (developing best practice management guidelines), and mine rehabilitation areas (testing innovative approaches).