Mining lobby groups have today welcomed the state government's plan to introduce an $80 million, four-year exploration incentive program.
Mining lobby groups have today welcomed the state government's plan to introduce an $80 million, four-year exploration incentive program.
Both the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies and the Chamber of Minerals and Energy welcomed Mines and Petroleum Minister Norman Moore's announcement, made at the RIU Explorers Conference in Fremantle.
Mr Moore confirmed the government was in the process of finalising the $20 million a year package, aimed an increasing exploration in the state. Its understood the funds will come from the royalties for regions scheme.
Both lobby groups have long advocated for an incentive scheme for WA which, over the past decade, has seen its share of national exploration expenditure decline.
"AMEC is very pleased that the new Liberal-National Government has adopted so much of our pre-election Resource Exploration Acceleration Plan (REAP). Public investment in exploration will pay off for Western Australians for generations to come," AMEC cehife executive Simon Bennison said.
"Greater funding of geo-scientific data collection and co-funded exploratory drilling will immediately stimulate the sector, delivering significant short and long term benefits to regional areas and to the State as a whole.
"The regions will benefit from the direct expenditure of the explorers on the ground and more significantly, the State at large will benefit from new mineral discoveries, ensuring a steady flow of royalties payments to underpin future Government initiatives.
The news comes at a time when several miners have announced the shutdown of WA mines due to lower demand and falling prices for commodities.
CME chief executive Reg Howard-Smith welcomed the government's commitment to exploration, stating it would increase access to geo-scientific data and drilling subsidies to generate activity in the resources sector.
"The incentives package will promote exploration activity across the state and give a boost to the future prosperity of Western Australia," Mr Howard-Smith said.
Previously, Mr Moore announced the government would move to streamline the approvals process for exploration and mining applications, a commitment made before last year's election.
