Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe used his speech at the Africa Down Under conference, in Perth, to dangle an attractive ten-year, R20-billion carrot before junior explorers. He revealed government’s intention to assist juniors with access to finance and told Mining Weekly that the Council for Geoscience should also be equipped to assist explorers proactively to find resources. The exploration drive will be geared towards the discovery and quantification of a new minerals pipeline not only in South Africa’s historical commodities such as gold and platinum-group metals but also in new minerals like fluorspar, for example.