Mineral exploration booming in Tasmania

21 April 2007

Tasmania’s mineral exploration boom continues. The Tasmanian Government announced today that five exploration licences in western and north-western Tasmania had been granted.

Tasmanian Deputy Premier Steve Kons said that ASF Resources had applied for licences over about 250 square kilometres in the Lake Pieman area, north-west of Renison Bell, and 23 square kilometres near Mount Dundas.

Targets are tin, gold and base metals and ASF Resources plans to conduct geological mapping, surveying and possible drilling during the first two years of tenure.

Sinosteel Australia has applied for an area of 125 square kilometres around Mount Painter, north of the Hellyer mine, to search for similar deposits underneath basalt cover.

Merdon Resources plans to explore for base metals, gold and other commodities in an area of seven square kilometres adjacent to another licence it holds in the Henty River area, 10 kilometres north-east of Strahan on the West Coast of Tasmania.

zinifex is to explore for zinc-lead-copper-silver-gold over an area of 40 square kilometres north of Lower Wilmot by cutting walking tracks to enable geological mapping and collection of rock and soil samples for analysis.

“These applications provide further confirmation of Tasmania’s potential and the perception by a growing number of companies that there are further discoveries to be made here,” Mr Kons said.