A mid-tier explorer will start hunting in and around Cunnamulla in the state’s south-west for potential new resources projects and the jobs that go with them.
Mines Minister Dr Anthony Lynham said the Earth Ray Exploration was among 24 explorers sharing the first $4 million instalment of a $10 million-plus State Government booster pack announced last month to supercharge exploration and to drive future resources jobs.
“Queensland has managed the health response to COVID-19 well, and now we are rolling out our economic strategy for recovery,” he said.
“Central to that recovery and jobs is our resources sector, a traditional strength of Queensland’s economy.
“The resources sector industry has fared better than others throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and these grants will help to future-proof regional economies as the state continues its economic road to recovery.
“Exploration is essential for Queensland to keep up with the soaring global demand for tech minerals and these grants are in place to put Queensland’s industry on the front foot.
“Demand for the next generation of minerals is being driven by new technologies such as electric vehicles and renewable energy products, computers, smartphones and products for the medical, defence and scientific research sectors – and Queensland is the place to get them.”
“These are genuine regional exploration projects bringing regional jobs, with explorers looking for minerals including copper, cobalt, silver and gold as well as a plethora of rare earth minerals,” Dr Lynham said.
“As the ‘green economy’ grows, so will the demand for minerals such as cobalt, nickel, indium and many others needed to manufacture renewable technology.
Phil Andrews of Earth Ray Exploration said that without the funding contribution the project would have been unlikely to proceed due to the extreme greenfields nature of the Southern Thomson area.
“This area has some historical gold workings dating back to the late 1800s. However it has sat unexplored due to the perception of the Eromanga Cover Sequence being too thick for mineral exploration.” Mr Andrews said.
“New geophysical data acquired over the last few years has highlighted anomalies with less than 300m of cover which makes it very viable for mineral exploration.
“The drilling of these anomalies will help us confirm the potential for economic mineralisation of copper, gold, lead, zinc, silver and cobalt.”
For the full list of 25 projects across Queensland visit dnrme.qld.gov.au
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