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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-06-14 Daily Xml
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Mining Industry

Mr HUGHES (Giles) (14:30): My question is to the Minister for Energy and Mining. Can the minister advise how the South Australian government is supporting discoveries that can lead to productive mining projects?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Energy and Mining) (14:31): Happily for the house, I can. I want to thank the member for this question and his interest in keeping 'pace' with developments in this state's important mining sector.

The Hon. S.E. Close interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Did you like that? During the life of the previous Labor government, mines operating in this state more than tripled to the existing mines at Olympic Dam, in the Middleback Ranges and Challenger; production began at Prominent Hill, Jacinth-Ambrosia, Four Mile, Peculiar Knob, Cairn Hill, Angas, and Kanmantoo—just to name a few. In fact, previously, as mineral resources minister, construction began on the Carrapateena mine, which is now producing copper and gold not too far away from the Stuart Highway.

While these mines are operating, providing jobs and opportunities to supply royalties that help pay for our teachers, our nurses and our ambulance drivers, we need to keep up the pipeline of new projects. That's why exploration and the potential for discoveries are so important to our state. Each new discovery also sparks renewed interest in our state, which in turn attracts further investment while also adding to our shared understanding of the geology of South Australia.

The online resource gateway provided by SARIG, the award-winning state drill core library, and the high-calibre work of the government-funded Geological Survey of South Australia provide explorers with in-depth analysis and a treasure trove of core to base their exploratory efforts. Alongside these resources, the three-year renamed PACE program—the Accelerated Discovery Initiative—was established to provide support for drilling campaigns and adopting innovative exploration methods and technologies.

Data uncovered through these projects are published on publicly available databases to inform future exploration and mining projects. Rounds 1 and 2 funding has already been allocated, with co-funding opened for expressions of interest in November of last year. I commend the former government for maintaining this level of exploration activity in South Australia.

I can inform the house that the South Australian government is today offering to fund 17 dynamic exploration projects through the third instalment of this initiative. The successful recipients will share in co-funded grants, with a total of $3.26 million allocated to this discovery initiative. Eight of those projects are targeting copper—copper, of course, being the commodity that South Australia is most famous for and the most important commodity in decarbonising and electrifying our economy.

I wish each of the 17 recipients success in their endeavours. I hope that their discoveries not only add to the knowledge of our state's geological make up but also add to the pipeline of projects that we need in South Australia to grow our resources sector and encourage more mining to help develop those commodities that we need to decarbonise. One of the great myths purported about climate change is that it will mean an end to mining. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, decarbonisation means more mining of those critical minerals that we need to electrify our economy to make sure we can decarbonise and remove carbon from our atmosphere.

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