Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy Tom Koutsantonis announced on April 30 that 26 resource exploration projects are to share A$1.7 million in grants from the latest round of PACE 2020 funding. PACE is a South Australian government initiative and stands for: Plan for Accelerating Exploration. PACE 2020 follows on from the successful A$30.9 million PACE initiative launched in 2004. PACE 2020 maintains the core principals of economic stimulation, accessibility to land, development of sustainable exploration and mining, increasing cultural awareness and balancing development with the environment.
“The scope of projects funded in this latest round are very encouraging and clearly demonstrate the success of PACE 2020 in generating world-wide interest in South Australia as an investment destination” Koutsantonis said. “Successful proposals include new targets, new exploration concepts, and interest in a wide range of minerals.” He added that the successful projects announced at the SA Resources and Energy Investment Conference are among 40 high-quality applications for funding from PACE Discovery Drilling. Those proposals comprised 37 mineral projects and three petroleum projects in areas of the State including the highly prospective Gawler Craton, the Cooper and Lake Eyre Basins and the Curnamona and Musgrave Provinces.
“In addition to the funding provided by the PACE Discovery Drilling grants, the industry will spend a further estimated A$5.07 million on exploration. Those spending forecasts will bring the total additional mineral exploration expenditure in South Australia to an estimated A$7.77 million”, said Koutsantonis, adding that PACE 2020 is not solely aimed at supporting the search for new resources. “PACE 2020 has been designed to encompass all aspects of exploration through to mine development in an effort to secure the benefits of the mining boom for all South Australians.”
Previous PACE drilling program success stories include the Carrapateena copper-gold-uranium prospect; Iluka Resources’ Dromedary and Gulliver’s Prospects for mineral sands; the Four Mile uranium project; Tasman Resources’ Vulcan iron ore, copper, gold prospect and Dominion’s Challenger gold mine expansion. For further information on the PACE 2020 and Discovery Drilling contact Miles Davies, General Manager PACE 2020, on [email protected]
