JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The Queensland minerals and energy exploration scorecard indicates that exploration is growing strongly in the state, primarily in response to the unprecedented demand for resource and energy commodities, Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson said at the launch of the scorecard in Brisbane on Friday.

The 'Queensland Exploration Scorecard' has been published by the Queensland Exploration Council, a multisectoral group established by the Queensland Resources Council (QRC) and chaired by retired Queensland deputy coordinator-general Geoff Dickie.

The report is believed to be a first detailed analysis of state-wide exploration success measured by drivers including Queensland’s resources prospectivity and endowment, resource prices, political stability, explorer/investor confidence and access to the essential factors of production, including capital, land and skills.

The scorecard is a tool for industry and policy-makers to help monitor performance, and seeks to assess the performance of the Queensland exploration sector against a number of lead and lag indicators.

Exploration was in “exceptionally good health”, Ferguson said, and the increase in exploration suggested that Queensland’s resources sector was increasingly competitive.

In fact, about $200-billion in capital expenditure has been currently committed to resource and energy projects nationally, $140-billion of that in liquefied natural gas, of which $45-billion has been committed to Queensland.

Further, in seasonally adjusted terms, estimated mineral exploration expenditure rose 4.4 % in the June quarter, with the largest increase in Queensland, where expenditure rose by 26 % to about $45-million.

But, if growth in exploration and mining activity was to continue, Ferguson called for issues such as labour, skills shortages, better community consultation and regulatory matters to be dealt with.

While it was key for industry to share its thoughts with government on how to promote resource exploration, it was also important that performance was measured in a tangible way, Ferguson told a crowd of more than 400 people.

Launching the scorecard, QRC CE Michael Roche said consolidating the sector’s reputation, as a reliable, long-term supplier of choice was invaluable in increasingly competitive global markets.

“More broadly for Queenslanders, greater exploration and resources production will generate higher employment, wealth generation, increasing royalty and tax contributions, and higher shareholder returns,” he added.

 

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