New deposits and mineral allocation areas to be explored in NSW

Explorers are being encouraged to search new areas of the state for deposits of high-tech metals and critical minerals thanks to $8.4 million worth of grants from the NSW Government.

Deputy Premier and Minister responsible for Resources John Barilaro said a fourth round of the New Frontiers Cooperative Drilling program will reimburse successful applicants for up to 50 per cent of their per metre drilling costs up to a maximum of $200,000 each.

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Speaking at the NSW Exploration and Tenures Forum in Sydney on 3 May 2021, Mr Barilaro announced a $2.2 million funding boost on top of $6.24 million allocated under three previous rounds of the program.

“We’ve already seen the benefits from previous rounds of this fund, with the first Cooperative Drilling hole in a project near Broken Hill striking high-grade platinum group metals and leading to a $5 million joint venture investment,” Mr Barilaro said.

“The mines of tomorrow are discovered today and grants of up to $200,000 will go a long way for serious explorers and investors who want to look for mineral and metal deposits and help to unearth future projects.”

At the event, Mr Barilaro also called on expressions of interest for operators to explore for minerals in the Mineral Allocation Areas of Dubbo, Forbes, Mundi and north and south Cobar.

“These Mineral Allocation Areas are the focus of where world-class data is being acquired by the Department of Regional NSW, working with Geoscience Australia, to help drive an exploration boom unlike anything before,” Mr Barilaro said.

“We’re calling for expressions of interest for a third time around, to encourage suitable operators to apply for new exploration licences in these areas to search for a range of metals including gold, copper, silver and zinc.

“Our goal remains to make NSW the number one destination for exploration and mining investment in Australia and today’s announcements bring us closer to achieving that goal.”

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