Copper Mining Strategy

Mr HUGHES (Giles) (14:05): Thank you, Mr Speaker. My question is to the Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy. Minister, can you inform the house on recent developments in relation to South Australia's copper strategy and its international reach?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Treasurer, Minister for Finance, Minister for State Development, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy) (14:06): I thank the member for his question and his interest in copper. Mr Speaker, you would be aware that in February I stood with the Premier to launch South Australia's copper strategy. This document is a bold statement of our intent. We want the 68 per cent of the country's known copper resource that sits in South Australia to reach global markets so that we can grow jobs, grow prosperity, for the people of South Australia. We want to encourage explorers to seek out more copper resources in this state so as to expand our asset inventory and build on our reputation as a major supplier of copper to the world.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: I note the opposition interjecting their opposition to copper. Part of the building of that international reputation is working with other copper jurisdictions in a mutually beneficial way. One of those jurisdictions is Chile—or Chilé, as the Deputy Premier says—

The SPEAKER: The Deputy Premier is right.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: —thank you, Speaker Solomon—is by far the world's largest producer of copper. Last year alone, Chile produced 5.7 million tonnes of copper to both surpass China, which produced 1.75 million tonnes, and Peru, with 1.6 million tonnes, based on mine production data issued by the US Geological Survey. Codelco, a state-owned resource company, is responsible for much of Chile's copper production. It makes sense, then, for South Australia to forge a close relationship with Chile to share our expertise in developing our copper resources and highlight our state's copper potential to our international investors.

I was delighted last week that a Chilean delegation, led by Mr Ignacio Moreno, Undersecretary of Mining, was able to visit South Australia and learn more about developments here in our own copper belt. As part of that visit, the delegation toured our new world-class drill core library. This state-of-the-art facility, with its stunning copper façade, is a fantastic investment in the future of our state and a showcase of our commitment for developing our resource potential. The core library at Tonsley has become a must-see destination for many visiting international delegations to our state. The Chilean government delegation was no doubt impressed with the facilities and the scale of the collection of core that has been assembled after decades of exploration.

While in Adelaide, the governments of Chile and South Australia grasped this opportunity to renew and strengthen our close relationship by extending by five years a memorandum of understanding between our two jurisdictions. I was delighted to sign the MOU on behalf of the South Australian government. My thanks go to Mr Rodrigo Alvarez, the director of the National Geology and Mining Service, for signing on behalf of the people of Chile.

The MOU will allow us to widen our engagement with Chile by exchanging information about regulatory practices to build on the ongoing partnership that is centred on geology and exploration technology. It is an important partnership, particularly as South Australia looks to Chile and other international investors to support our ambitions to triple our annual output of copper from the state to one million tonnes by 2030.

I want to thank the Chilean delegation. I look forward to growing our relationship with Chile and other copper jurisdictions as we continue to implement actions arising from our long-term comprehensive copper strategy for South Australia.