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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2007-11-21 Daily Xml
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MINERAL EXPLORATION

The Hon. B.V. FINNIGAN (14:55): I direct my question to the Minister for Minerals Resources Development. Will the minister please provide the chamber with details of the burgeoning demand for up-to-date information on geosciences due to the ongoing mining boom in South Australia?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Police, Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning) (14:55): I thank the honourable member for his question. Expenditure on mining exploration in South Australia reached a new record high of $260.7 million in the June quarter of this year. This continuing trend maintains South Australia's ranking ahead of every other state or territory in this country except the mining giant Western Australia. Five years ago exploration expenditure in this state was languishing at just above the $30 million mark. Today it is more than eight times higher.

Since the launch in 2004 of the plan for accelerating exploration (PAES), South Australia has witnessed exceptional growth in all areas of the minerals, petroleum and geothermal sectors in South Australia. The success of PIRSA's PAES initiative was only this week recognised by the Public Sector Week's Premier's Awards, with it winning in the Growing Prosperity category. I congratulate all these people in PIRSA not just for that award but also for the tremendous job they have done over the past four or five years.

The increasing level of exploration activity encouraged by this award-winning initiative has also led to heightened interest in support services. Not surprisingly, one of those areas of increased demand is in the area of specialised library services. In response, the Rann government has recently upgraded the Primary Industries and Resources SA Geoscience Library and will this week widen public access to its reference material through an online catalogue.

Established in 1948 from an informal collection of literature from the State Geological Survey, the library has grown to now include more than 20,000 items, including digitally stored resources. The library has become a vital part of the exploration industry's initial work plans and, from Friday, this extensive and specialist catalogue will be open to the state's fast growing resources sector.

I am delighted with this expanded access to the upgraded PIRSA Geoscience Library, and I am happy to inform members that a record number of investors and explorers are taking an interest in South Australia's geology, with exploration at such high levels. Library services are currently averaging more than 1,000 requests a year, with that level of use expected to at least double as South Australia's exploration boom continues.

Specialising in South Australian geology, geoscience, mining and earth related topics, the PIRSA Geoscience Library has become a valued resource to industry, government agencies, geoscience and educational institutions as well as the general public.

Reading this literature enables mining companies to understand the latest techniques in exploration and apply them to wherever they may be working. Geologists may use this information to refine their practices, thereby minimising costs or errors. Mining company geologists can also use published information to better their understanding of the deposits in comparison with other world deposits that have similar characteristics.

They can also use published reviews and conceptual models to develop their own mining projects and practices. The upgraded library has been established outside the CBD at the conveniently located PIRSA core storage facility at Glenside, although librarian borrowing services remain at the head office in Grenfell Street in the city. This upgrading of the PIRSA library is further confirmation of our state's successful booming exploration sector and the government's responsiveness to the industry's demand for unique geoscience literature.

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