Exploration Incentive Scheme
83. Mr Ron Sao to the Minister for Mines and Petroleum:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's commitment to strengthening our world-leading resources sector while diversifying WA's economy.
(1) Can the minister outline to the house how this government is supporting the development of the next generation of mines and supporting local jobs in regional WA?
(2) Can the minister advise the house how this investment will deliver substantial returns to the Western Australian economy?
Mr David Michael replied:
(1)–(2) I thank the member for Cannington for the question and congratulate him as well for his amazing speech yesterday.
As the member knows, the Cook government is committed to helping shape our state's future so that the benefits of our mineral wealth will last for generations. I became Minister for Mines and Petroleum in December 2023. The member's old boss, the former member for Cannington and former Minister for Mines and Petroleum, took me for a handover breakfast at Dome in Victoria Park. The first thing he said to me was that exploration is the lifeblood of the industry. I know that the member, as his former chief of staff, knows that. I think the former member for Cannington is driving a car around a racetrack in Wales somewhere today! He will be having a good time.
Exploration is the lifeblood of the mining and resources sector, and that is why I am really pleased to advise the house that there is a fair bit of excitement within industry about our public sector reform. For the first time, we will see a department dedicated to mines, petroleum and exploration. It is through exploration that the mines of the future will be discovered, providing economic prosperity for our state and jobs for the people of Western Australia. To support this work, I had the pleasure of being in Kalgoorlie with the member for Kalgoorlie during the election campaign to announce our election commitment to increase funding support for the Exploration Incentive Scheme to a total of $18 million a year. The injection of funding will help drive investment in exploration and inevitably help build new geoscience data collections to complement the Geological Survey of Western Australia.
The EIS plays a pivotal role in overcoming the financial barriers that often prevent early stage projects from reaching their full potential, stymying the next generation of mines of the future being discovered. The mines of the future need exploration undertaken today. The successful applicants for round 31 of the EIS co-funded drilling program were announced last week. A total of $11.2 million has been offered across three programs, with 77 projects set to benefit from the funding. Encouragingly, about 50% of the successful applicants receiving funding for drilling are targeting critical minerals.
Recent EIS success stories include Ora Banda Mining, which identified high-grade gold mineralisation at its Little Gem discovery, with the work co-funded out of round 29. Other notable successes from EIS participants include high-grade niobium intercepts from Dreadnought Resources' Stinger prospect in round 28 and a new rare earth element lode at Kingfisher Mining's MW2 prospect in round 29.
The Exploration Incentive Scheme is just one example of how the Cook government backs WA's resources industry. A strong exploration industry is crucial to the identification of deposits and the development of downstream processing capabilities into the future. This support expands the ability of local industry to deliver the resources required for the energy transition and the government's broader plans to make more things here in WA.
Overall, the EIS will make an important contribution to ensuring that Western Australia remains a global resources leader. I really look forward to opening applications for round 32 later this year.
