PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Battery metals have dominated the latest round of the Western Australian government’s Exploration Incentive Scheme's (EIS's) co-funded drilling programme, with 64% of the successful applicants for Round 26 searching for battery minerals, with the majority chasing nickel.

“Mineral exploration companies remain a critical part of Western Australia's economic success, and the record resources sales of A$231-billion in 2021/22 are a testament to their efforts. 

“The search for battery minerals is fundamental to the world's clean energy transition; the state government will continue to grow and diversify our resources sector to meet the growing demand for renewables,” said Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Johnston.

“Western Australia's mineral exploration companies continue to lead the nation with the record A$2.5-billion invested over the past financial year representing 64% of the Australian total."

Johnston noted that the revived interest in battery minerals followed Western Australia's record nickel sales of A$4.9-billion in 2021/22 and all-time-high exploration expenditure across all mineral sectors of A$2.5-billion. 

The successful applicants are searching greenfields areas across the state, with particular interest in Western Austarlia's remote eastern regions close to the Northern Territory border.

Recent EIS successes include Tempest Mineral's Meleya project that intersected multiple mineralised zones including visible copper in its maiden drill hole. AusQuest's drilling on its Balladonia project intersected anomalous lead, zinc and cadmium which suggests it may have similar mineralisation to the world-renown Broken Hill deposit in New South Wales.

The successful applicants for the co-funded Energy Analysis Program (EAP) Series 4 have also been announced with four grants awarded to projects in the Perth and Canning Basins. 

The EAP promotes the re-analysis of existing data to better understand Western Australia's petroleum and geothermal systems, and encourages exploration in new and under-explored areas in Western Australia.