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A RAMPANT plant synonymous with the north west could help to find the next big mineral deposit in the region.
The humble spinifex plant may hold the key to helping explorers discover rich new mineral deposits to help grow the economy and create new jobs in Queensland’s north west.
A $400,000 study funded by the Newman government and conducted by HDR Salva in the Boulia region found that spinifex leaves can contain chemical traces of buried minerals.
The spinifex can indicate rocks with a high potential to contain platinum and other associated rare elements.
Minister for Natural Resources and Mines Andrew Cripps told the Digging Deeper seminar in Brisbane that the results would be of great assistance to the resources sector exploring in the north west.
“The Newman government is committed to supercharging the resources sector and creating new jobs – and the humble spinifex could give the industry a big boost,” Mr Cripps said.
“There is wide coverage of spinifex in north west Queensland, which could open up huge opportunities to find the large silver, lead, zinc, copper and gold deposits the region is believed to hold.
“This study has turned spinifex from a spiny nuisance to a potential economic supercharger.”
Mr Cripps said the spinifex study was the first completed of nine Industry Priority Initiative projects being undertaken through the Geological Survey of Queensland.
“All of these projects were identified by the resources industry and GSQ as having the highest potential for significant positive impacts on exploration success,” Mr Cripps said.
The projects are being funded through the Newman government’s Future Resources Program to acquire geological and geophysical data to support minerals exploration.
“These projects will significantly raise Queensland’s resource exploration investment profile and boost the success rate of exploration in the state,” Mr Cripps said.