The Queensland Government has announced nearly $5 million in investment to go towards strengthening the exploration sector in the state.
Resources Minister Scott Stewart said the Palaszczuk Government was continuing to back exploration in Queensland by providing funding for various programs through the State Budget.
“We know that supporting the exploration industry is important for finding new deposits and developing new projects,” Stewart said.
“In turn, more projects mean more royalties, exports and more jobs for Queenslanders.
“We will do this with $2.5 million towards Collaborative Exploration Initiative grants and a further $2.2 million to help with the development and expansion of the New Economy Minerals industry in Queensland.”
Stewart said the latest ABS data showed exploration expenditure continued to grow significantly.
According to the data, investment in Queensland exploration has increased by an impressive 22.5 per cent to $705 million in 12 months.
“Queensland’s boost in exploration expenditure has come from strong growth in exploration for minerals (up 14.5 per cent) and oil and gas (up 53.1 per cent) compared to the previous 12 months,” he said.
“Building on this, last year alone the Palaszczuk Government released a total of 8,205 square kilometres for gas exploration to maintain a pipeline of future resources projects.”