australia's identified mineral resources 2004 - Geoscience Australia

AUSTRALIA’S IDENTIFIED MINERAL RESOURCES 2004
In response to nickel prices and export earnings, which have increased progressively since mid-2002,
spending on exploration for nickel-cobalt in Australia rose by almost 23% to $65.9 million in 2002–03.
Zinc-lead-silver exploration expenditure of $36.6 million was $1.0 million less than in 2001–02.
A world survey of exploration budgets for 2003 by the Metals Economics Group showed a worrying
trend – Australia’s share of global exploration expenditure continued to fall, decreasing to 15.5%
from 17.6% in 2002, while Canada was again the leading country with 21.5% of world budgets. The
decreases in mineral exploration expenditure in Australia over the period 1996–97 to 2001–02, and the
following increase, broadly reflect global trends. However, most other mining countries experienced
less significant falls in exploration and a more significant rebound in this period. If this trend is
sustained, Australia’s mineral production and exports will decline over the medium to long-term.
To address the decline in exploration, the Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, the Hon. Ian
Macfarlane, MP, announced the Mineral Exploration Action Agenda on 12 September 2002. A
Strategic Leaders Group made up of industry and government representatives was formed to identify
the priority issues impacting exploration investment in Australia, and possible solutions.
The group made 12 recommendations to address issues that it considered critical to the viability of
the mineral exploration industry and the long-term sustainability of the mineral resources sector.
These recommendations, which were presented in July 2003 in Mineral Exploration in Australia,
were to:
1. Develop regional template agreements to resolve native title and heritage issues;
2. Encourage use of the expedited procedure in the Native Title Act 1993;
3. Amend the Aboriginal Land Rights (NT) Act 1976 to facilitate the decision-making process;
4. Develop a coordinated national approach to resolve impediments to land access;
5. Introduce a flow-through share scheme;
6. Introduce a general tax deduction uplift factor for greenfields exploration expenditure;
7. Implement the full deductibility of all costs associated with Native Title requirements;
8. Undertake a major pre-competitive geoscience survey program to achieve national coverage to
modern standards of basic geoscience datasets;
9. Develop nation-wide protocols, standards and systems for internet-based access to all exploration
related data;
10. Launch a ‘50 early-career explorer’ scheme for new graduates and holders of doctorates;
11. Increase higher education funding for geoscience; and
12. Establish a deep ore discovery research and development program.
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