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PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Western Australian government has received 52 submissions, including six from prospectors, for Round 16 of its Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS), which will be awarded in early December.
Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Johnston said on Thursday that the applications for Round 16 of the EIS reflected the current market, and included applications for lithium, base metals, potash, nickel and gold, in project areas located throughout Western Australia.
The A$10-million-a-year EIS, which funds drilling programmes and pre-competitive geoscience surveys, encourages resource exploration and helps to increase the number of new mineral and energy discoveries.
The state government has previously warned that the EIS could be on the chopping block as the government attempted to make up a A$100-million-a-year hole left by the recent tanking of a proposed hike in the gold royalty.