2025 Queensland Exploration Scorecard

4.5 Queensland Drilling Industry Sentiment

Drilling activity stands as the essential gateway to discovery and the initiation of the mining value chain. Drilling not only underpins exploration success but also contributes significantly to regional economic development through job creation, skills training, and the advancement of technology. Recognising its pivotal role, the QEC partnered with Australian Drilling Industry Association (ADIA) to survey Queensland-based drilling companies and gauge sector sentiment and outlook. The survey aims to provide a clear picture of the drilling industry’s perspectives to serve as an insightful barometer for the broader health and direction of exploration in Queensland. The data summarised below is representative of twelve respondents to the survey and thus the relatively low sample size should be taken into consideration during interpretation.

CHART 4.5.1: SENTIMENT COMPARISON - EXPLORATION VS DRILLING

QLD Drilling Industry QLD Exploration Industry

Increased costs due to inflation Increased costs due to inflation

Approvals Approvals

Policy uncertainty (State) Policy uncertainty (State)

Environmental regulations Environmental regulation

Labour/skills availability Labour/skills availability

Royalty/tax rates Royalty and tax rates

Policy uncertainty (Commonwealth) Policy uncertainty (Commonwealth)

Equipment availability Equipment availability

Cultural Heritage regulations Cultural Heritage regulations

Social licence to operate Social licence to operate

Native Title regulations Native Title regulations

Land available for exploration Land available for exploration

Conduct and compensation agreements Conduct/compensation agreements

Access to investment capital Access to investment capital

Exploration permit process Exploration permit process

Department/Government assistance Departmental/Government assistance

Pre-competitive geoscientific data Pre-competitive geoscientific data Resources prospectivity Resources prospectivity

0 0

-50 -50

-40 -40

-30 -30

-20 -20

-10 -10

10 10

20 20

30 30

-60

QLD Drilling Industry QLD Exploration Industry Net impact, from negative (left of X-axis) to positive (right of X-axis) with zero reflecting neutral impact

Net impact, from negative (left of X-axis) to positive (right of X-axis)

38

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