Question Time

DEEP EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGY

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister Assisting the Premier in Public Sector Management) (15:22): This drill will be located at the CRC's drilling research and training facility, a dedicated technology testing facility focused on hard rock minerals drilling. The old Brukunga site, which has the CFS training facility next to it which can provide accommodation, is an ideal location close to the city for such activities. Again, it makes Adelaide an ideal location.

Locating the CRC headquarters in Adelaide recognises the international expertise and technology that are being gathered here in South Australia within the minerals and energy sector. The choice of Adelaide for the headquarters and the selection of Professor Richard Hillis from the Australian School of Petroleum as the inaugural chief executive officer further add to the growing importance of the mineral resources and energy industries to the state's economy. Mineral exports are now the largest single sector contributing to South Australian outbound trade, totalling $9.5 billion a year. This equates to 29 per cent of total state exports.

Another important aspect of the Deep Exploration Technology CRC is the research that will be undertaken and its relevance to exploration in South Australia. The major challenge in South Australia is the thickness of the rock sequences that overlay the highly prospective basement. This geology requires a deep exploration approach to uncover new world-class resources that can eventually be developed into mines. The vision of this cooperative research centre is safer, faster, cheaper and deeper drilling with real-time, down-hole analysis and smarter remote control technologies.

These technological advances, combined with improving deep targeting through new geoscience models, are precisely what is required to expand exploration capacity within South Australia. Facing these challenges, the state government recognises the importance of supporting and hosting the Deep Exploration Technology CRC here in Adelaide, and that is because resource discovery and development are a key to South Australia's future prosperity.

As many honourable members would be aware, several major discoveries have been made since the introduction of this government's $30 million plan for accelerating exploration (PACE). We have expanded from four major producing mines in 2002 to 12 today, with construction currently under way at Kanmantoo in the Adelaide Hills.

Behind these new projects is a pipeline of more than 20 developments, with at least half a dozen expected to complete feasibility studies and regulatory approvals within the next six months. Support for applied research programs that drive exploration and development in the minerals and energy sector is also a key element of PACE.

Our government confirmed in the latest budget that the PACE program has been extended and expanded. PACE 2020 will ensure that South Australia retains its competitive advantages and further creates opportunities for new discoveries and new mining developments. I look forward to the deep exploration technology CRC becoming a key component of the future discoveries in South Australia's minerals and energy sector.