- Applications are open for round 8 of the Collaborative Exploration Initiative to discover new mineral deposits across Queensland.
- There is $4.6 million in grants available through the program.
- Priority will be given to the discovery of critical minerals that are required to make the solar panels, turbines, batteries and other technologies for Queensland's Energy and Jobs Plan and the global transition.
- Applications close on January 11 next year.
The latest round of the Collaborative Exploration Initiative grants program to support explorers looking for the next critical mineral deposit has opened.
The grants program will be focused on exploration for critical minerals.
The CEI program builds on the Queensland Critical Minerals Strategy which among a number of initiatives has reduced rent for new and existing exploration permits for minerals to $0 for the next five years, which is worth $55 million.
It also builds on the Palaszczuk Government's $5 billion Copperstring 2032 project which will help unlock potentially $500 billion of critical mineral projects in the North West Minerals Province.
Quotes attributable to the Resources Minister Scott Stewart:
"We are continuing to back the resources sector and our explorers through our Collaborative Exploration Initiative grants program.
"Exploration is the lifeblood of the resources industry and the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows the confidence explorers have in Queensland.
"To the end of June overall exploration was up 4.4 per cent to $770.6 million, with exploration for copper deposits up 16.7 per cent.
"We know the mineral exploration projects being done today have the potential to be our mining projects of the future which is why these grants are so important.
"Queensland has significant resources of the critical minerals the world needs to decarbonise and through these grants, we are helping back companies to find those deposits.
"If we are to build a decarbonised economy, we need explorers to take the risks to find that next big deposit especially in critical minerals."
"That's why the Palaszczuk Government is proud of its record supporting the resources industry and our explorers who are key to establishing new projects in the future."
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