Record interest in minerals exploration continues to deliver economic benefits and skilled employment across regional Victoria.
Earth Resources Regulation, Victoria’s mining and resources regulator, has more than 350 current applications for new minerals licences, renewals, transfers and variations. In 2018-19 it received less than 100 new applications for the whole year.
To help support the processing of the unprecedented number of mineral licensing applications, Minister for Resources, Jaclyn Symes, has announced that the State Government is providing an additional $1.1 million to employ additional licensing assessment staff. Recruitment for new licence assessment staff is now underway.
The announcement was made by Minister Symes during a visit to a minerals exploration site at Fosterville North, where she viewed low-impact exploration activity such as rock sampling and exploratory drilling.
These activities were conducted by a Bendigo-based company that has seen its employment levels quadruple since the start of 2018. The company has hired an extra 50 people since March 2020 and expects to hire 30 more by Christmas.
Moreover, due to the ongoing demand for minerals exploration services, the company plans to employ an additional 120 people across regional Victoria in 2021.