Photo by: Bloomberg
PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Northern Territory government has opened up the twelfth round of collaborative grants for exploration drilling and geophysics.
The programme provides collaborative funding of 50% for up to A$125 000 per project of the total costs for drilling and geophysical programmes by industry, for projects located in the Northern Territory, and where there is a lack of geological information.
“Initiatives like this increase the Territory’s profile as a resources investment destination and will bring in investment and exploration expenditure,” said Minister for Primary Industry and Resources Paul Kirby.
“Research shows the economic return on programmes like this is ten times more than what the Northern Territory government spends on the initiatives themselves.”
The collaborative grants programme is part of the government’s A$26-million Resourcing the Territory initiative, which includes geoscience and industry stimulus programmes to maximise resources exploration in the Northern Territory.
With an aim to address gaps in the critical understanding of the geology of the Northern Territory, the collaborative grants programme is aimed at encouraging projects that may open up new areas for exploration and ensuring the data is made available to the wider exploration community.
In 2018, a record number of applicants was received for the programme, with 15 projects from 12 different companies potentially receiving more than A$1-million in funding.