The Australian Government is supporting the development of the next wave of mineral, energy and groundwater resources, with work now underway on the $100 million Exploring for the Future program.

“Australia’s wealth of natural resources has underpinned our economic success for decades,” Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Matt Canavan said.

“To ensure the resources sector continues to contribute to both local communities and the national economy, we are investing in the Exploring for the Future program, which will focus in particular on exploration in Northern Australia.

“Mineral and energy resources represent 10 per cent of Australia’s GDP and more than 50 per cent of our exports. Groundwater is essential for these commodities and a successful agricultural sector.

“Some of the first activities under the program are now underway, including a $3.1 million project in the Northern Territory to map the electrical conductivity of the ground to better understand the location of mineral and energy resources.

“In addition, a $3.8 million project will explore a 550 kilometre seismic line across Queensland and the Northern Territory to help identify the location and size of possible oil and gas resources.

“These are just the start of building a bigger and better picture of the mineral, energy and groundwater potential that lies beneath Australia.

“Around eighty per cent of Australia remains under explored. Tapping into Australia’s undiscovered potential is the key to not only securing a healthy ongoing supply of mineral, energy and groundwater resources but also our long-term prosperity.

“The work will focus on gathering new data to map the location, quantity and quality of the mineral, energy and groundwater resources in these underexplored areas.

“Geoscience Australia will be working with state and territory governments, industry and experts to achieve the best possible results for Australia.”

More information about Exploring for the Future is available from the Geoscience Australia website.