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News for the day...more money being given to Central (see bottom of article)

Exploring new ground Article Date:01/10/08

Exploring new ground

The Territory Government has awarded $767,000 in funding to assist exploration companies gain new information in areas of central Australia where there is limited geological knowledge.

The Minister for Resources, Kon Vatskalis, today announced the successful applicants for the Geophysics and Drilling Collaborations program.

“Exploration and mining are key drivers behind the Northern Territory’s economic growth,” said Mr Vatskalis.

“The Geophysics and Drilling Collaborations program comes under the Territory Government’s $14.4 million Bringing Forward Discovery initiative over four years which aims to foster exploration in new areas of the Territory.

“The program provides companies with 50% of expenses (up to $100,000) to assist with the costs of exploration in remote areas.

“These collaborations will provide us with a considerable amount of new information in the vast areas of the Territory where prospective geology is buried beneath sand and soil cover.”

The new project will focus on 4 geophysics projects and 7 drilling projects.

The geophysics projects will provide valuable gravity information while the drilling programs cover a wide range of geological settings targeting a range of commodities.

The successful companies for the drilling program are Mithril Resources Ltd, Dunmarra Energy, Bondi Mining Ltd, Proto Resources, St Barbara Mining Ltd, Uramet Minerals Ltd and Adelaide Resources Ltd.

Successful companies for the geophysical surveys are Quasar Resources Pty Ltd, Thundelarra Exploration Ltd and Central Petroleum Ltd.

http://www.getfarming.com.au/pages/farming/news_view.php?nId=8100006&cId=12