Successful projects for round two of Accelerated Discovery Initiative (ADI) funding announced
A total of almost $4.5 million in new funding has been awarded to 22 companies to drive mineral exploration growth in South Australia and the increased investment and job opportunities that will generate.
The latest round of the Accelerated Discovery Initiative (ADI) funding is designed to position our state as a leading supplier of the critical minerals of the economy of the future.
Copper is a central component of the development of the renewable technology that is sweeping the world, driving the electric vehicle revolution and South Australia’s world-leading home battery uptake.
Funded through the Economic Business Growth Fund (EBGF), the ADI supports innovative technologies, collaboration and new exploration ideas to fast track responsible mineral exploration activities across our state.
Announcing the 22 successful recipients today, the Minister for Energy and Mining said the ADI continues to play an important role in maintaining South Australia as an internationally-recognised leader in mineral exploration development.
Following the high level of interest in round one in 2020, and in response to COVID-19, the State Government increased funding of the second round from $3 million to $4.5 million.
It is Australia’s most diverse exploration co-funding program, with the inclusion of geophysics as well as drilling and other exploration techniques, frontier logistics support, technology and research innovation, and Aboriginal employment.
The successful projects will support activities and innovative technologies to generate and test new exploration ideas and increase new data sets that will help accelerate data sharing amongst the exploration sector.
The initiative reflects the changing drivers in exploration, with a heavy emphasis on new technologies, scientific endeavour and upskilling to boost discovery and reduce risk.
It also fosters meaningful employment and upskilling of aboriginal employees and businesses by part funding exploration employment and related formal training opportunities.’’
This second round is in addition to the first round of the ADI in 2020 which included $3 million in funding across 14 proposals, including nano-satellite company Fleet Space Technologies.
Fleet Space Technologies CEO Flavia Tata Nardini said being awarded the ADI grant in 2020 allowed their large-array, remote mapping heat flow project with OZ Minerals and the University of Adelaide to accelerate at a rapid rate.
"This grant meant we could manufacture and successfully deploy first-generation low-cost Geologic Instruments, advancing our mineral discovery project of innovative exploration and research in regional South Australia,’’ she said.
“We are recording seismic and temperature data in-situ, processing at the node, transmitting via LoRaWAN to our Portal, and finally backhauling via satellite to Nebula where it is analysed in near real-time.
“This is an exciting world-first trial that is gaining global attention for a future solution approach to remote monitoring with applications for mineral deposit detection and space exploration.’’
The second round was heavily over-subscribed, with a total of 76 high quality applications received with 22 projects assessed against the project criteria to receive funding.
Accelerated Discovery Initiative - successful 2021 applicants
| Proposal name | Proponent company | Co-funding activity supported | Funding sought |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Gawler project: magnetotelluric (MT), passive seismic and magnetic modelling study | Western Areas Limited | Geophysical programs | $90,000 |
| Testing of geochemical and ML techniques on sulfide mineralisation covered by Murray Basin | Hillgrove Resources Ltd | Research collaboration | $74,300 |
| Sahara Prospect model test and core scanning - diamond drilling | Western Areas Limited | Exploration drilling, Research collaboration | $300,000 |
| An exploration model for Au mineralisation in the southern Gawler Craton | Alliance (Eyre) Pty Ltd | Exploration drilling, Research collaboration | $300,000 |
| Testing of deep MT zone of monzonite related Cu-Au near Kanmantoo | Hillgrove Resources | Exploration drilling | $229,500 |
| Geochemical sampling method to locate blind gold deposits in the Gawler Craton | Petratherm Limited | Proof of concept | $147,500 |
| Integrated exploration under deep cover: geophysics, geochronology, geochemistry | FMG Resources Pty Ltd | Research collaboration, Aboriginal employment | $200,000 |
| Emmie Bluff calibration VTEM | Coda Minerals | Geophysical programs | $74,500 |
| Alford East copper oxide project | Hale Energy Pty Ltd | Proof of concept, Exploration drilling, Groundwater | $300,000 |
| Eastern Eyre Peninsula and Northern Curnamona gravity survey | FMG Resources Pty Ltd | Geophysical programs | $120,000 |
| SUSA Curnamona geochemical sampling program 2021 | Sinosteel Uranium SA Pty Ltd | Proof of concept, Research collaboration | $129,000 |
| Stratigraphic drilling to assess the potential for sediment hosted copper mineralisation in the basal stratigraphy of the Adelaidean | Flinders Prospecting / IGO Limited | Exploration drilling | $250,000 |
| Mount Brady project | Tigers Dominion Group Pty Ltd (TDG) | Exploration drilling, Aboriginal employment | $192,500 |
| Reinvigoration of regional gold exploration in the Tarcoola District | Barton Gold Pty Ltd | Proof of concept, Exploration drilling, Geophysics, Research collaboration | $300,000 |
| Driller deployable cross hole tomography | Boart Longyear | Proof of concept, Exploration drilling | $300,000 |
| Mt Craig copper project | Strikeline Resources Pty Ltd | Exploration drilling, Geophysics program, Aboriginal employment | $325,000 |
| Pernatty C ZCB project | Cohiba Minerals Limited | Exploration drilling | $298,500 |
| Douglas Creek drilling proposal | Copper Search Australia Pty Ltd | Exploration drilling | $228,000 |
| Greenfields Gawler target generation - from ExploreSA to exploration | SIG Machine Learning Pty Ltd | Proof of concept | $152,000 |
| Walparuta project | Longreach No.1 Pty Ltd | Geophysical programs | $84,850 |
| A new approach to mapping basin architecture using airborne MT over the Copper Coast Region | Flinders Prospecting / IGO Limited | Geophysical programs | $150,000 |
| Mulgathing project | Red Tiger Resources Limited (RTR) | Geophysical programs, Aboriginal employment | $175,000 |
| Total ADI round two funding | $4,420,650 | ||
More information about the Accelerated Discovery Initiative
Thursday 20 May 2021
