The Western Australian Government has committed $40 million in investments to accelerate critical minerals exploration.
Dubbed the Sustainable Geoscience Investments package, the investment aims to address the increasing demand for critical minerals needed for electric vehicles, energy storage and solar panels.
Half of the global production of lithium comes from WA alone, and the grants will provide a much-needed boost to this sector.
“The transition to clean energy represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for WA as economies around the world seek to secure their critical minerals supply chains,” Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan said.
“No other Australian state comes close to matching our commitment to minerals and energy exploration, and WA continues to lead the pack by some distance.”
Some of the initiatives included in the investment include:
- A $16.1 million boost to the Exploration Incentive Scheme to increase greenfield exploration
- A $6.7 million package for an Industry Ready Program (IRP) to create data analytics packages for key regions and commodities
- A $6.2 million boost for magnetotelluric data acquisition to enable more targeted exploration
- A $4 million boost to the Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia to expand research and innovation in net zero and waste reduction projects
- A $3.7 million investment in redeveloping and improving many of the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety’s (DMIRS) online data services.
“This major investment into geoscience builds on the strong foundation of our world-leading resources sector, paving the way for growth in a low-carbon future,” McGowan said.
“Our 2023-24 State Budget delivers on the WA Jobs Plan, helping to diversify the WA economy and create new jobs into the future.”
WA has attracted over $9 billion in investments for battery and critical minerals projects since the mid-2010s.
“Accelerating exploration activity is crucial to our state’s future economic success, and I am confident this funding will help the industry unearth WA’s next big discovery,” Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Johnston said.
“We need to keep providing high-quality data for resource exploration to help maintain our global reputation as a proven investment partner.”