The latest round of the Queensland Government’s collaborative exploration initiative (CEI) grants is open, with a particular focus on critical minerals.
The state is offering $4.6 million as part of the eighth round of CEI, with priority going towards the discovery of critical minerals that are used to make renewable technologies such as solar panels and wind turbines.
“We are continuing to back the resources sector and our explorers through our collaborative exploration initiative grants program,” Queensland Minister for Resources Scott Stewart said.
“Exploration is the lifeblood of the resources industry and the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows the confidence explorers have in Queensland.”
The Queensland Government said the program will build on its Critical Minerals Strategy, as well as the CopperString project, which it hopes will unlock up to $500 billion in critical minerals projects across the North West Minerals Province.
“To the end of June overall exploration was up 4.4 per cent to $770.6 million, with exploration for copper deposits up 16.7 per cent,” Stewart said.
“We know the mineral exploration projects being done today have the potential to be our mining projects of the future which is why these grants are so important.”
The maximum award per project is capped at $300,000, with projects able to be started from September 16, 2024.
The CEI aims to support mineral exploration programs that are technically sound, innovative, address vital knowledge gaps and contribute to the discovery of critical minerals in the state.
“Queensland has significant resources of the critical minerals the world needs to decarbonise and through these grants, we are helping back companies to find those deposits,” Stewart said.
“If we are to build a decarbonised economy, we need explorers to take the risks to find that next big deposit especially in critical minerals.
“That’s why the Government is proud of its record supporting the resources industry and our explorers who are key to establishing new projects in the future.”
Applications close on January 11 next year.
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