- Round 34 of Exploration Incentive Scheme to test new concepts and unlock discoveries
- Competitive program supports both greenfields and brownfields exploration efforts
- Applications opened Monday, 3 August 2026
- Cook Labor Government providing quality jobs and business opportunities for Western Australians
Mines, Petroleum and Exploration Minister Daniel Pastorelli has welcomed the opening of Round 34 of Western Australia's Exploration Incentive Scheme's (EIS) Co-funded Exploration Drilling Program.
This funding continues the Cook Labor Government's support for innovative mineral and energy exploration across Western Australia.
The competitive program offers co-funding for eligible drilling projects that test new geological concepts, target underexplored areas, and help unlock the next generation of discoveries.
Important critical mineral successes have found manganese and antimony during the 2025-26 year, demonstrating the value of this investment and the role of EIS drilling in supporting new discoveries.
These include Black Canyon Resources greenfields discovery at the North Manganese Corridor within the Wandanya Project, where shallow RC drilling returned high-grade manganese and iron results, and Black Cat Syndicates brownfields discovery at the Mt Clement Antimony Project, where drilling intersected a previously unidentified lode structure containing antimony-lead-silver mineralisation.
Further success has also flowed from earlier EIS support at Ora Banda Mining's Little Gem prospect within the Davyhurst Gold Project, where Round 29 co-funded drilling helped identify new lode systems and provided the foundation for follow-up work that led to the March 2026 discovery of the new Sapphire Trend, expanding the Little Gem mineralised envelope and reinforcing the long-term impact of the scheme.
Applications for Round 34 are now open and will close at 4pm on 28 August 2026.
As stated by Mines, Petroleum and Exploration Minister Daniel Pastorelli:
"Western Australia's Exploration Incentive Scheme remains one of our State's most important tools for encouraging responsible exploration investment, supporting regional jobs, and strengthening the State's pipeline of future resource projects.
"We see continued success from the EIS, and that's why the Cook Labor Government made an election commitment in 2025 to increase the annual EIS budget to $18 million per year.
"For example, in May this year more than $7 million was allocated to 46 successful applicants, continuing to drive exploration success across a wide range of commodities and geological settings."
