Mineral Exploration

Mr BROWN (Florey) (15:06): Thank you, sir. My question is to the Minister for Energy and Mining. Can the minister update the house on exploration for minerals in South Australia?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Energy and Mining) (15:06): I thank the member for his question and his keen interest in the prosperity of the state. The ABS has released its December quarter 2023 mineral exploration figures. In a seasonally adjusted term, $78.5 million was spent in our state exploring for minerals, particularly for copper—which was 63 per cent of the total—iron ore and uranium. This quarterly expenditure has brought the total for the 2023 calendar year to $294 million, compared to $165 million in the 2022 calendar year and $106 million in the 2021 calendar year.

Making available pre-competitive data, facilitating release areas and practising best practice regulation is core business for this government and is not something to be overlooked or undervalued. Between April 2022 and December 2023, exploration expenditure under the Malinauskas Labor government was $426 million. That exceeded the expenditure for the entire time of the Marshall government—the entire time that they were in office.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: I hear the rebuttals already—COVID, it's not fair, it's not right. In Australia, mining was able to continue operating—

The Hon. J.A.W. Gardner interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Are you here again? I thought you left.

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: You're back; welcome back.

The Hon. J.A.W. Gardner interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Morialta is called to order.

The Hon. J.A.W. Gardner interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Oh dear.

The Hon. J.A.W. Gardner: Oh dear.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Yes, oh dear. In Australia, mining was able to continue operating as it had been marked as an essential industry by the Australian government. Despite COVID, Australian mining remained open for business with comparatively few disruptions. Our expenditure in 2023 is the highest in 11 years and the highest since 2012, a time when OZ Minerals was spending tens of millions of dollars discovering the extent of the Carrapateena and Prominent Hill copper mines of our north. We are seeing a similar trend.

Last week, the Premier, ministers and media visited the nation's largest and significant copper discovery, Oak Dam. This copper discovery is likely the most significant global discovery in the past decade. We witnessed how serious BHP are about developing it. The Treasurer and I counted 12 rigs up and running at the Oak Dam facility, the fourth major copper deposit next to Olympic Dam, Carrapateena, Prominent Hill, and a copper refinery. The area has the markings of a world-class tier 1 copper province, which, if realised, would have a profound effect on the South Australian economy.

The resources sector is already now a new pillar of our economy. Of our $17.9 billion worth of export, a record in 2023 reported by the ABS, the resources sector contributed nearly $7 billion of that, including $2½ billion in refined copper exports and $2 billion in energy and mineral goods, mainly copper, ores and uranium. With the purchase of Carrapateena and Prominent Hill, through their acquisition of OZ Minerals last year, we are seeing BHP send more copper into their smelter, which is excellent for the complexity of our economy and, of course, assists in creating more jobs here in South Australia.