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IRIS Tasmania  >  Resource Industry  >  Mining  >  Opportunities

Mining Opportunities

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Maps – Mining

Maps – Transport

Mineral exploration
Competitive advantages
Value-adding opportunities

Mineral exploration

There are significant mineral deposits existing in Tasmania and a number of opportunities for acquiring ground for mineral exploration. The mineral extraction and processing sector is Tasmania's largest export industry, in 2007/08 accounting for $2.66 billion (53%) of mercantile exports.

Although the more mineralised regions of Tasmania (for example, the Queenstown-Zeehan-Rosebery area in western Tasmania) have been extensively explored on the surface, much of Tasmania remains relatively unexplored.

Mineral Resources Tasmania provides information on areas of high mineral resource potential in Tasmania and encourages private sector exploration which will lead to new operations coming on stream as the economic life of existing operations declines.

To assist mineral exploration and land management, MRT has a mineral deposits database which stores information on all known Tasmanian mineral deposits and mineral occurrences including mines, quarries and related sites. The database can be searched textually or by use of a map.

Competitive advantages

Tasmania has several factors which make it an attractive place for mineral exploration and mining. They include:

  • a richness and diversity of minerals
  • economy based on the extraction and processing of its resources
  • a Government commitment to deliver infrastructure and investment conditions
  • a Government strategy which aims to create optimum conditions for such investments to take place.

Value-adding opportunities

Tasmania is keen to further develop the value-added processing component of its resource-based industries. There is a variety of opportunities to further process minerals. Tasmania offers a sustainable cost advantage for many processing industries and has competitively priced real estate and a stable and skilled workforce, which provides significant benefits through lower employment turnover and lower on-costs, including training costs.