Accelerated Discovery Initiative (ADI) extended until 2025, commits another $11.5 million to the program
The ADI provides co-financing to mineral exploration activities to attract greater exploration investment, bringing forward new mineral resource discoveries, jobs, Aboriginal employment opportunities and royalties.
The ADI also has a focus on supporting innovative technologies, collaboration and new exploration concepts to fast-track mineral exploration across South Australia.
It plays an important role in maintaining South Australia’s international leadership in mineral exploration development.
The South Australian Government has committed funding of up to $3 million for round three proposals, reflecting the global significance of ADI.
ADI is Australia’s most diverse exploration co-funding program, offering support for traditional drilling and geophysics, as well as other non-conventional exploration techniques, frontier logistics support, technology and research innovation.
The initiative reflects the changing drivers in exploration, with a heavy emphasis on new technologies, scientific endeavour, and upskilling, to boost discovery while reducing risk.
Successful projects will bolster activities and support innovative technologies to generate and test new exploration ideas and increase new data sets to help accelerate data sharing within the exploration sector.
In addition to innovative exploration programs, ADI initiatives have fostered meaningful employment and upskilling of Aboriginal employees and businesses.
So far, during rounds one and two, funding of $7.4 million was allocated to 36 initiatives.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Barton Gold, Alexander Scanlon said the ADI has allowed Barton to accelerate its innovation-driven exploration approach to the central Gawler Craton.
“ADI facilitated a trial of deep ground penetrating radar (GPR) in the region and early results are compelling,” said Mr Scanlon.
“The technique has not only found over 25 shallow new structures, but also their orientation, giving us clear, shallow targets for precise, high-efficiency and low-cost drill testing.
“We are looking at an order of magnitude gain in cost and time to target delineation, acquiring these targets for less than $200,000 over a 1-2 month period, versus $2-3 million of drilling over a 1-2 year period of time,” he said.
Barton’s recent success is another example of the benefits of the ADI not only delivering results for the company, but public sharing of the results helping other explorers unlock new discoveries.
Round two was heavily over-subscribed, with a total of 76 high quality applications received with 22 projects assessed against the project criteria to receive funding.
Round 3 funding opens on 26 November 2021. For more information go to the Department for Energy and Mining's Accelerated Discovery Initiative web page.
The extension of the ADI will significantly contribute to increased exploration activity and discovery of new mineral resources to achieve the South Australian Growth State target of $300 million in annual exploration investment by 2025 and $13 billion in exports by 2030.
Friday 26 November 2021
