Tasmania mineral exploration totals $43.1m in FY23

Mineral exploration in Tasmania has hit a new record with figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing $43.1m was spent in the 2022-23 financial year.

Tasmania Resources Minister Felix Ellis says mineral exploration in the state is now at its highest level on record.

“There has been an increase in exploration expenditure of 31% on the preceding fiscal year,” he said.

“We know the world will need the key and critical minerals that Tasmania has to help power the global shift to renewable energy and to support defence manufacturing.

“This is exactly why we are backing the industry to grow in a balanced way through programs like our popular Exploration Drilling Grant Initiative (EDGI) and Geoscience Initiative.

“The EDGI grants provide co-funding for greenfield targets that may lead to the discovery of Tasmania’s next new mine. Since the program began, there have been eight rounds released, with funding provided facilitating more than 16,000m of drilling.”

Tasmania’s mining and mineral processing sector contributes more than $2.8b a year in exports and supports more than 5800 jobs.

The state is one of the most highly and diversely mineralised areas in the world, supporting an active and growing mining sector with a well-established history in mineral processing. It exports ores and concentrates of iron, copper, lead, zinc, tin, high-grade silica and tungsten.