PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The federal government on Thursday tabled legislation before Parliament to support junior explorers in their resource hunt.

The exploration development incentive was aimed at fostering the discovery of new resource deposits and would encourage investment in eligible junior exploration companies conducting greenfield mineral exploration, said acting Assistant Treasurer Mathias Cormann on Thursday.

Announced in the federal Budget in May this year, the A$100-million exploration development incentive would provide small exploration companies with better access to capital from private sector investors through a refundable tax offset for greenfield exploration costs.

Cormann said in a statement that new mineral discoveries underpinned the future of the Australian mining industry, adding that junior and small miners did most of Australia’s greenfield exploration, but changing global market conditions had created challenges and created barriers to new investment and exploration.

“The government understands that the mining industry drives our economy through export revenue and by directly employing hundreds of thousands of Australians.

“This new legislation will enable junior explorers to use their tax losses for the benefit of their Australian shareholders.”

September figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that the trend estimate for total mineral exploration fell by 9.6% during the three months to June, or by about A$46.8-million, to $438.8-million.

Advisory firm Grant Thornton on Thursday urged junior explorers to have a closer look at the incentive offered by the federal government.

“We believe junior exploration companies are unclear of the benefits of the government’s exploration development incentive. This is partly due to not having final legislation and not fully understanding the mechanics of the incentive,” said Grant Thornton Australia energy and resources tax partner Peter Hills.

“The significance of Cormann announcing its introduction to Parliament today assists in raising awareness of the exploration development incentive. We believe the incentive is highly beneficial and companies should take the opportunity to use the incentive to attract much needed investment in greenfield exploration and the continual support of government in future years.”