Joint media release with Northern Territory Senator Dr Sam McMahon

The Coalition Government’s $225 million Exploring for the Future program will direct its focus on new critical mineral deposits across north-eastern Australia as it moves into its next phase.

Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia Keith Pitt has announced Geoscience Australia will carry out scientific drilling, surveying and sampling across Queensland and the Northern Territory to uncover new sources of minerals, energy and groundwater. 

“This project will shed light on potential untapped deposits of zinc, lead and silver, as well as copper, cobalt and gold in the Barkly-Isa-Georgetown region,” Minister Pitt said.

“We will also try to find new sources of uranium, rare earth elements and critical minerals, building on the work we did in this area in the first phase of the program.

“And Geoscience Australia will undertake sampling of mine tailings to improve the understanding of resource potential between the Tennant Creek, Mount Isa and Croydon mineral provinces.

“They will also assess the potential to recover critical minerals from mine tailings, to support the development of the growing critical minerals industry in Australia.”

The Barkly-Isa-Georgetown project is one of eight projects that Geoscience Australia will embark on over the next four years as part of the next phase of the Exploring for the Future program.

This includes deep-dive projects in the geological regions of Officer-Musgrave in central-west Australia, Darling-Curnamona-Delamerian in south-east Australia and Barkly-Isa-Georgetown in the north-east. Based on their geology, Geoscience Australia chose these areas from two potentially resource-rich corridors identified in the east and west of Australia last year.

Exploring for the Future also includes three continental-scale projects that have national applications but with a focus in southern Australia; and two program-support projects.

Minister Pitt said these projects will build on the success of the first stage of the Exploring for the Future program – which delivered a detailed picture of potential resources across more than three million square kilometres of northern Australia from 2016 to 2020.

“As it has done over the last four years, Exploring for the Future is expected to create short, medium and long-term jobs in the resources sector, and to play a key role in Australia’s gas-fired recovery,” Minister Pitt said. 

“We have already seen the value of the geological data from the first stage of the Exploring for the Future program, with more than 20 resource companies taking up new investments in over 120,000 square kilometres of exploration acreage across Queensland and the Northern Territory.

“Unlocking new resource-rich regions will provide ongoing economic and employment growth to local communities and the nation.”

“Independent analysis of the first stage of the program from ACIL Allen Consulting found it could drive up to $2.5 billion in economic benefits and jobs in northern Australia,” Minister Pitt said.

Senator for the Northern Territory Dr Sam McMahon said the resources sector will be one of the important drivers of the post COVID-19 recovery.

"This second phase of the program is great news because it opens up the opportunity for hundreds of job opportunities across the territory but particularly for the Barkly region," Senator McMahon said.

"The Northern Territory needs to take advantage of its natural resources and this program will allow that to happen and be of benefit to not just the Top End but the entire country," she said.

More information on the Exploring for the Future program, including a map of the new projects, is available at https://www.ga.gov.au/eftf. 

Media contact: Minister Pitt's office 02 6277 7180