2 March 2026

South Australia is once again named – one of the world's most attractive destinations for mining investment.

On Friday, theFraser Institute announced that South Australia ranked in fourth place in the overall Investment Attractiveness Index among 68 jurisdictions across the world in its annual survey for 2025. The top-tier ranking was awarded on the strength of the state’s mineral potential, its supportive environment for exploration investment, and world leading geological database.

The survey ranked South Australia number one for Best Practices Mineral Potential Index, which rates regions on their geologic attractiveness. South Australia secured 16^th place on the Policy Perception Index, measuring the impact of government policy on attitudes toward exploration investment, and third for its geological database, managed by the Geological Survey of South Australia.

Th state's fourth place overall finish puts it at the top of all Australian jurisdictions, ahead of Western Australia in sixth, Queensland in 13^th and Tasmania in 17^th.

The state also secured top ten finishes for its efforts to build social licence (placing tenth for Socioeconomic Agreements / Community Development Conditions) and in the category of Trade Barriers (sixth), which reports on how jurisdictions encourage investment or do not act as a deterrent to investment.

The 2025 Fraser Institute results put South Australia back where it belongs, amongst the most prospective, stable and attractive jurisdictions for exploration and mining development. Recent discovery and development activity pay testament to the result with new investment paying dividends, creating opportunity and delivering benefits across the South Australian economy.

Comments attributable to Paul Martyn, Chief Executive, Department for Energy and Mining

These results are a positive endorsement of South Australia’s ongoing efforts to be a key player in the global energy transition. Copper and critical minerals will be needed in unprecedented quantities, and the survey demonstrates that we are well positioned to meet that need.

The state’s deep geology, once considered a challenge, is now seen as an opportunity for explorers, who are now armed with a wealth of geological information data brought to life through the tireless innovations of the renowned Geological Survey of South Australia (GSSA).

The GSSA continues to lift the cover on our mineral potential with best-in-class digital delivery, interactive dashboards and the deployment of artificial intelligence in data analysis.

These results show we are building a world-class regulatory framework that delivers certainty to explorers, developers and communities alike and confirms we’re on the right track as we continue to grow capability in capacity in South Australia.