New economy minerals focus
A new funding round has opened under Queensland’s Collaborative Exploration Initiative, targeting projects in North and North West Queensland.
This round encourages the exploration of new economy minerals including cobalt, gallium, germanium, graphite, indium, lithium, manganese, molybdenum, niobium, platinum group elements, rare earth elements, rhenium, scandium, silver, tantalum, tungsten, tin, titanium, and vanadium.
Areas covered by the 2020 round will run from the Northern Territory border near Camooweal through to Townsville.
Applications for CEI funding for amounts up to $200,000 per project will be considered.
Geological Survey of Queensland is seeking projects that can be completed and reports submitted by June 15 2020, and applications close Friday, February 7.
The Queensland Resources Council has welcomed the new funding, saying it was becoming more challenging to find new mineral deposits – especially in the North West where resources are much deeper with dense ground cover.
“Every bit helps when it comes to exploration and these new grants can help unearth the State’s significant reserves of copper, nickel, zinc, graphite, and molybdenum and major deposits of cobalt, rhenium, scandium, tantalum, niobium, lithium, rare earths and vanadium,” QRC Chief Executive Ian Macfarlane said.
