PLAN FOR ACCELERATED EXPLORATION

Mr ODENWALDER (Little Para) (14:21): My question is for the Minister for Mineral Resources Development. Can the minister advise how the state government is working with the mining industry in stimulating new mineral discoveries and in attracting and securing major levels of mineral exploration investment?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Industry and Trade, Minister for Small Business, Minister for Correctional Services) (14:21): I thank the honourable member for his important question. South Australia's Plan for Accelerated Exploration (PACE) was launched by the Premier in 2004. The PACE initiative is now recognised around the world—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Minister.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: The PACE initiative is now recognised around the world and throughout Australia as one of the most successful government initiatives in stimulating new mineral discoveries and in attracting and securing major levels of mineral exploration investment. A PIRSA customer survey showed that 96 per cent of respondents found PACE to be an incredibly successful program, delivering extraordinary growth in the minerals and energy sectors for South Australia.

The PACE initiative has been assessed as providing a net benefit of more than $300 million. When we talk about PACE, the numbers are often large and they really do speak for themselves. I will try not to confuse members opposite. The state now has 16 major mines operating or nearing completion compared to just four in 2002—a fourfold increase—from the time the government introduced the PACE initiative. In 2009-10 South Australia achieved a record mineral production of $3.3 billion—

Mr Williams interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order, the member for MacKillop will be quiet!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: —trebling in size since 2003-04 and surpassing the Strategic Plan target of $3 billion a year, four years earlier than anticipated. In the year prior to the introduction of the PACE initiative in 2003, mineral exploration expenditure in South Australia stood at $35.9 million, just 4.9 per cent of the national mineral exploration spend. Compare that to now, when South Australia's mineral exploration expenditure for the December quarter totalled $59.5 million.

Mineral exploration for the entire 2010 year totalled $189 million, well exceeding the Rann government Strategic Plan target of $100 million. Also, last year the PACE scheme underpinned the industry's confidence in exploration investment, particularly in forward drilling programs which smashed through the million meter mark for drilling work approvals. I will repeat that: last year the PACE scheme underpinned the industry's confidence in exploration investment, particularly in forward drilling programs which smashed through the million meter mark for drilling work approvals, an increase of 35 per cent from 2009.

Due to this outstanding success, Premier Rann released the Labor Party Mining in South Australia Policy 2010, a successful policy, I might add, endorsed by the people of South Australia, which included a $10.2 million expansion of the original initiative called PACE 2020. PACE 2020 is building on the outstanding success of the original PACE initiative, sharing and expanding its core principles of economic stimulation, accessibility to land, development of sustainable exploration and mining, increasing cultural awareness and balancing development with the environment.

Victoria, Queensland, NT and Australia's mining giant Western Australia have now also established PACE-like mineral exploration initiatives, which include a collaborative drilling program with industry designed to encourage small companies to explore in underexplored greenfield regions of Australia. As the Premier has said previously: imitation is the highest form of flattery.

This government—the Rann government—has worked very hard to create a climate of certainty for investors and mining companies, and it is this work which is paying dividends. However, there is always more that can be done, and we look forward to working with the industry and stakeholders to ensure SA's mining industry continues to move in the right direction. PACE 2020 components help unlock new frontier areas of exploration and further streamline the process from exploration to mine development.

Once again I put on the record my congratulations to the owner of RMG Services, Rudy Gomez, on selling his Carrapateena copper project—a direct PACE discovery—in the state's Far North for $250 million to Oz Minerals. RMG Services is just one company which took advantage of the state government's PACE initiative and is a true example of how successful the scheme really is.

Let me conclude by saying that the Rann government's PACE program and the new PACE 2020 initiative is driving mining development in this state, and it will continue to act as the primary mechanism in building South Australia's international profile and strengthening investor confidence in the state's resource sector.