Almost $1 million in funding will further supercharge Tasmania’s resources sector, with a new grants round expected to drive a significant increase in greenfield exploration.
Already contributing more than $3 billion a year to our economy through exports alone and supporting more than 5,200 jobs state-wide, our mining and mineral processing sector is an important economic driver for our State and we continue to invest in its growth.
Seventeen more mineral exploration projects are now set to share in around $950,000 through round 7 of the Tasmanian Liberal Government’s popular Exploration Drilling Grant Initiative (EDGI).
This takes the total number of exploration projects we have supported to more than 80 since the program began in 2018 and takes our overall investment to more than $2 million.
The program provides funding support to industry and investors to help identify new and potentially lucrative greenfield mining opportunities, as well as now supporting exploration of existing mine or mining lease sites.
Encouraging exploration is the first step in helping the mining sector unlock new revenue for our State, create even more jobs in our regions and boost local communities and economies.
The program provides up to $50,000 for direct drilling costs and $20,000 for helicopter support, if required, for successful applicants wanting to undertake mineral exploration, with a view to opening viable operations.
The 17 projects approved through the latest funding round will see nearly 10 kilometres of exploration drilling and more than $2.8 million in expenditure by the industry.
Projects being funded through this round are targeting a diverse range of minerals including tin and tungsten, both of which are essential for the development of new technology and sectors such as renewable energy generation.
Importantly, sixteen of the grants support greenfield exploration and one is to re-examine an existing site.
All up, the EDGI is expected to drive a 60 per cent increase in greenfield drilling to open up sites that may not have previously been economically attractive for exploration.
This is the first round to be funded by the $1.5 million, three-year extension to the EDGI that was announced as part of our 2021 election platform.
It’s been a pleasure and absolute privilege to be Resources Minister, presiding over a time of sustainable development of our resources sector.
I congratulate Felix Ellis for his elevation to Cabinet and I’m certain he will continue our Government’s strong advocacy for this important industry into the future.
*The list of successful applicants under Round 7 of our Mining Exploration Grant Initiative and further information on the Initiative is available on the MRT website.