Record $44.5m mining spend: NT Govt wants five key projects up and running in five years

The NT government wants to get at least five major mining projects up and running over the next five years and has announced record funding to make it happen.

• $200m NT copper mine on track for September construction start up

THE NT government wants to get at least five major mining projects up and running in the Territory over the next five years and has announced record funding today to make it happen.

The government is ploughing $44.5m into funding for high prospectivity mineral exploration over the next five years, with increased priority given to projects needing more exploration to secure final investment.

There are currently 19 Territory mining projects working towards a Final Investment Decision.

Mining Minister Nicole Manison is in Alice Springs where she announced this year’s May budget will contain a $12m boost in funding for Resourcing the Territory.

She is attending the Northern Territory Government’s flagship mineral and petroleum event, the Annual Geoscience Exploration Seminar (AGES) 2021.

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The funding will enable:

• Near-term resource development through an increased focus on exploration of ‘brownfields’ sites
• Identification and promotion of new areas of the Territory for resource exploration
• Acceleration of geoscience programs to attract and de-risk mineral exploration
• Expansion of the Geophysics and Drilling Collaborations grants program
• Studies of the Territory’s geological potential for critical commodities to support a low-emissions future
• Further collaboration with the Federal Government’s Exploring the Future program which has facilitated substantial investment in the NT

Chief Minister, Michael Gunner said he is backing in the mineral and resource sectors to stimulate the sector on high prospectivity projects and get them off the ground.

“This is record investment now to create near term jobs and cement our comeback,” he said.

“We have moved the program from being time limited to a program that is guaranteed. We are making the Territory the best place to do business, and the best place to invest.

“Private investment leads to more opportunities for local businesses and more jobs for Territorians.”

The private sector has invested more than $350m in minerals and petroleum exploration expenditure in the Territory since the launch of Resourcing the Territory in 2018 through a $26m package over four years.

AGES is a technical exploration conference with a range of speakers from the NT Geological Survey, its research partners and the exploration industry.

The Territory Economic Reconstruction Commission report estimates the combined value of the five projects to be $5.8bn with the potential to create 5800 construction jobs and 3200 ongoing jobs.

Industry pundits say getting five projects online by 2026 could see the NT’s mining workforce increase from 4400 to more than 5700.

The NT government has made a $6.5m commitment to Resourcing the Territory for next financial year.

It will be increasing its annual ongoing commitment to $9.5m from July 1 next year.

It has also helped generate more than $36m in co-investment from the federal government.

The NT government hopes to kickstart projects, including KGL’s Jervois copper and silver project in Central Australia, Castille Resources’ Rover 1 gold project near Tenant Creek and various gold projects in Pine Creek.

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The Northern Territory government gave KGL project approval at the start of this year and it is within its target to fund the development.

KGL will give delegates attending the Alice Springs conference an update on the proposed copper mine’s status.

KGL Resources executive chairman Denis Wood said infill and step-out drilling had restarted at Jervois and it was the company’s ambition to start development in the second half of this year, subject to the final investment decision.