Govt releases new plots of SA land for miners to explore
He may have lost his bid to give miners an open ticket to explore South Australian land, but one day later Mining Minister Tom Koutsantonis delivered the industry a consolation gift.
Energy and Mining Minister Tom Koutsantonis announced on Friday at an industry conference that the state government would release more than 11,000 square kilometres of land in the state’s north for mineral exploration.
“Releasing parcels of land of this size and scope is rare. This is a province-scale opportunity that we are confident will attract very serious bids,” Koutsantonis said.
The 16 parcels of land in the Northern Gawler Craton, near Coober Pedy, will be available for competitive tender in February next year.
The parcels of land were subject to a Geological Survey of South Australia National Drilling Initiative (NDI), with data suggesting the region had significant potential for copper discovery.
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Koutsantonis said the release of land was “yet another opportunity to attract even more investment into South Australia”.
“Copper, for example, continues to be sought-after around the world, and interest will continue to grow in the future, and initiatives such as this land release will ensure that South Australia remains front of mine for investors and explorers across the world,” he said.
“The area shares similarities with the leading multi-generational copper Olympic Dam Province, and it holds prospects for copper, gold, nickel and base metal deposits.”
Association of Miners and Exploration Companies SA director Peta Abbot told InDaily the zone “represents a high-value frontier for exploration investment in South Australia, offering strong prospectivity across a range of commodities that are critical to driving the global energy transition”.
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“The Northern Gawler Craton is a greenfields region, and the release of this data opens the door to fresh geological ideas while accelerating the potential for new discoveries in one of South Australia’s mineral-rich areas,” Abbot said.
“AMEC is pleased that Treasurer and Minister for Energy and Mining, Hon Tom Koutsantonis, has reinforced his backing of South Australia’s mining industry through ongoing government investment in the State’s Geological Survey, delivering the critical data needed to guide investment decisions.”
For the government, the announcement followed its failed bid to give miners the opportunity to continue exploring South Australian land beyond the current 18-year maximum.
Last week, it attempted to pass a bill that would have altered key pieces of South Australian laws governing the mining and resources sector.
That sparked debate across the resources and farming sectors, and led to the Liberal party introducing amendments to the government bill that watered down conciliatory measures for miners and added protections for agriculturalists.
Successful Liberal amendments forced Koutsantonis to back down and can the bill, with the Treasurer saying the Opposition “have yet again thumbed their noses at the state’s mining sector”.
The agriculture sector bit back, with South Australian Dairyfarmers’ Association CEO Andrew Curtis saying “agriculture is still an afterthought in policy development”.
