Welcome to the 15th annual QEC Exploration Scorecard Foreword
For 15 years the QEC Scorecard has charted the evolution of Queensland’s exploration sector - its resilience, challenges, and enduring importance to the State’s economy and energy future. This year’s Scorecard reflects a sector that remains active and determined, yet under sustained pressure. Queensland’s rich geology and skilled explorers provide a strong foundation for exploration. The establishment of the Resources Cabinet Committee and the announcement of nine new tenures opened for gas exploration signal the government is more proactively supporting the sector. These steps and streamlining efforts are welcome, recognising that it will take time for reforms to translate into stronger investor confidence given the persistence of barriers, like lengthy approvals. The Scorecard highlights these barriers in 2024-25. Queensland’s total exploration expenditure declined by 14.6%, with coal exploration experiencing the steepest fall at 18%, followed by minerals at 14.1% and petroleum at 12.4%.
When considered against the backdrop of escalating input costs, these reductions suggest an even more pronounced contraction in exploration activity than the expenditure figures alone indicate. These declines will inevitably impact the development of future projects and the resource sector’s economic contribution to the state. The Deloitte Queensland Energy and Resources Index recorded a year-on-year decline, steeper than the broader ASX200, underscoring how global price corrections, particularly in coal, flow through to exploration in Queensland. This financial strain is evident in the operating environment for drilling companies, who report cost inflation, approval delays, and labour shortages continuing to temper near-term activity. The introduction of three new tiers of coal royalty in 2022 continue to significantly impact investor confidence in Queensland’s resources sector.
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