Five projects share Exploration Drilling Grant Initiative (EDGI) funding in Round 12

Five successful projects will share in $540,000 in grants from the twelfth round of Exploration Drilling Grant Initiative (EDGI) funding. EDGI is a Tasmanian Government initiative to increase the level of greenfield drilling in Tasmania. The aim is to facilitate the discovery of new projects necessary for the long-term future of Tasmania’s mining industry and to encourage exploration for minerals listed on the Australian Critical Minerals list.

In recent decades, junior explorers have made the largest proportion of mineral discoveries in the Western World. Such companies are a key component of the mineral exploration industry in Tasmania. They operate in a risky business environment, reliant on capital raisings and are subject to commodity price cycles and market conditions. Their exploration costs have also increased significantly in recent years, so that co-funded exploration programs such as EDGI are an important incentive to their continued work.

The Government contribution to successful EDGI projects has increased with Round 12 to a cap of $100,000, with an additional $20,000 if helicopter support is required. The company contribution to the total project cost varies, but is estimated, on average, to be at least double the grant amount. Detailed economic reviews of co-funded exploration programs in Western Australia and South Australia have shown that they are of significant value to the overall economy, by generating additional private sector activity.

Since 2018, approximately $2.5 million in EDGI grants have been paid toward completed projects from Rounds 1 to 11.

The value of EDGI is shown by the strong increase in greenfields exploration spend since the inception of the program in 2018 – an increase from $1.9 million in 2018 to nearly $10 million in 2025 – an increase of almost 425%!

Round 11 is still active and if the anticipated number of Round 11 projects are completed, the total EDGI investment prior to Round 12 will be approximately $2.8 million.

Successful Round 12 projects are listed below, and their locations are shown on the map.