PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Queensland government has set aside A$27-million in its latest state budget to fund the next generation of projects in the state’s north-west region.

Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Dr Anthony Lynham said the funds would be invested over four years to expand resource exploration and development for gas in new basins and minerals in the North West minerals province.

“Our multibillion-dollar mineral resources sector is at a critical juncture where some mines are entering the end of their project cycle, and this new investment is focused on the next frontiers,” he said.

“Without an ongoing exploration programme, we will not be able to keep the discovery conveyor belt moving, which provides our resources stream in the longer term.

“In this budget, there is funding for different forms of mapping so explorers can better understand what’s below the ground both vertically and latitudinally.”

The funding would include A$7.125-million for the Strategic Resources Exploration Programme to provide vital geological data to encourage new discoveries of gas and minerals in the North West, and A$3.6-million for gas exploration in the new frontier Georgina, South Nicholson and Isa super basins.

A further A$4.275-million will be spent on mineral geophysics to pinpoint the locations of potential new mineral prospects over wide areas, while A$1.45-million will go towards mineral geochemistry programmes to identify the type of potential mineral deposits.

Some A$4.95-million will also go towards mineral synthesis to develop a comprehensive and integrated understanding of the geology of the North West minerals province, while A$925 000 has been set aside to support national research into advanced techniques used in the discovery of mineral deposits in frontier regions.

A further A$3.6-million will go towards the Collaborative Exploration Initiative, which helps explorers target and test identified mineral prospects in frontier regions.

The new exploration investment comes on top of previous initiatives to drive exploration, including an exploration industry expenditure concessions, which have provided A$35-million in financial relief to explorers since March 2016, the state’s first annual exploration programme, which set out planned land releases for 2016/17 to provide certainty for industry, landholders and traditional owners.

The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) this week said the state budget illustrated the vital importance of the resources sector, with the government using revenues generated through royalties to fund job creation in the state.

QRC CEO Ian Macfarlane noted that, with a paper-thin surplus of A$146-million in 2016/17, it is difficult to ignore the fact that coal royalties surged by 97%, or an extra A$1.8-billion, this year.

“Since last year’s budget, the forward estimates of royalty revenue have increased by A$3.7-billion with total royalty revenue in this year 80% higher than last year.

“Green activists may keep talking about the end of mining; however, Tropical Cyclone Debbie gave Queensland a brief taste of their extremist green reality,” Macfarlane said.

“The budget reports that a disruption of coal exports that lasted for a little over a month was a major contributor to the three-quarters of a percentage point drop in Queensland’s growth rate for the whole year. So while the activists can huff and puff, it’s clear that mining will be resourcing Queensland’s future for the foreseeable future.”