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A two-year applied geoscience program will examine the undiscovered potential of Victoria’s multi-element critical minerals endowment with sample collection and final analysis phase to determine an appropriate and sustainable development pathway.
With the imminent release of the Victorian state budget, Earth Resources Regulation has extended the temporary waiver of the partial cancellation requirements for minerals exploration licences to 31 March 2024. If you are an exploration licensee, you may choose not to relinquish part of your licence area if your second, fourth, seventh or tenth licence anniversary falls during this time. Partial relinquishment at these anniversaries is normally required under section 38A of the Minerals Resources (Sustainable Development) Act 1990. Only licensees who are up to date with their annual return submissions and rent payments are eligible for the waiver. Earth Resources Regulation is using the extension to make improvements to the way licences are managed throughout their lifecycle.
The regulator has also advised that the lodgement of annual statutory reports is now solely online, a significant step change from previous transitional lodgement options and will assist with the roll-out of the new RMSVIC mineral licence application and tenement management portal, which will replace the current RRAM system. As testing of RMSVIC continues, the initial ‘go live’ timetables have been revised with a roll-out now targeted for the second half of 2023.
The Government and ERR (Earth Resources Regulation) continues to work towards legislative reform of the Minerals Resources Sustainable Development Act (1990). Current proposed amendments are focused on modernising the works approval process for exploration, mining, and extractive industries in Victoria, and other regulatory reforms with expected Bills in parliament to be tabled later this year.
AMEC has secured the opportunity for a special member-only Boardroom Lunch event with Minister for Resources, the Hon. Lily D’Ambrosio MP, in July. This is a priceless opportunity for AMEC members to meet and discuss the issues and future of the Victorian minerals industry and your operation in a limited place setting with a key member of the Ministry and the new Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA).
We are also working on securing several other exciting events this year, along with in-person catchups, presentations and webinars. Keep an eye out for email updates on event invitations and attendance details.
Tasmania
The Tasmanian government has awarded its 8th round of grants under its Exploration Drilling Grant Initiative (EDGI). Resources Minister the Hon. Felix Ellis recently announced that 12 projects will share in more than $760,000 in funding. These newly approved projects will deliver approximately six kilometres of exploration drilling and more than $2.1M spent by industry, with the mining and mineral processing sector now contributing more than $3B a year in exports and supporting more than 5,200 jobs in the state. This was also the first round of grants to specifically encourage exploration for critical minerals for defence manufacturing and clean energy, including tungsten, cobalt, and rare earths, with at least four of these 12 projects having strong critical minerals potential.
AMEC continues to champion this initiative and actively strives to increase awareness of its success in other jurisdictions.
AMEC has made the following submissions on behalf of member companies:
To learn more contact Lucy McClean on 0412 283 252 or Stuart Glazebrook on 0402 216 835.
