Benefits

The $225m Exploring for the Future program was a world leading program, delivering public precompetitive geoscientific data and information, to attract future investment in resource exploration and empower and inform decision-makers to enable sustainable development of Australia’s mineral, energy and groundwater resources.

The Exploring for the Future program has changed the way we understand the Earth beneath northern Australia, and has been instrumental to delivering on the key purpose of the Australian National Resources Statement. The evidence gathered through the program has already translated into real impacts that build towards a smarter, more connected future. The findings have been able to significantly reduce the technical risk of exploration in underexplored areas and will ensure projects can plan for minimum impact on the environment and maximum return on investment.

This work is driving new infrastructure, creating jobs, and building local economies to ensure the prosperity of future generations of Australians. The enhanced understanding of our resources also supports calls for infrastructure investment, including new ports and roads, which will open more of inland Australia.

The program was an investment in Australia’s long-term prosperity. The full economic and social benefits will be realised across months, years and decades. Since 2016, we have seen benefits like new exploration and better-informed resource management, including:

• economic benefits – precompetitive geoscience data and analysis supported 3.5% of Australia’s GDP or around $76 billion of added value to the Australian economy and around 80,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs in 2021-22 alone (Deloitte Access Economics, 2023. The economic value of government precompetitive geoscience data and analysis for Australia's Resources Industry)
• economic benefits – the potential to generate up to $2.5 billion from just 3 projects from the first 4 years of the program (an independent review by ACIL Allen Consulting, 2020. Exploring for the Future Program: Return on Investment Analysis. The Impact and Value of Pre-competitive Geoscience)
• economic benefits for the hydrogen industry – precompetitive geoscience data and research on natural hydrogen expected to have stimulated tenement uptake to explore for natural hydrogen. Just one tenement could benefit around $22 million to the hydrogen industry over 10 years (2022-32). The Hydrogen Economic Fairways Tool (HEFT) found to provide significant cost savings for hydrogen companies (Deloitte Access Economics report, 2023. The economic value of government precompetitive geoscience data and analysis for Australia's hydrogen industry)
• the Mineral Potential Mapper – ACIL Allen Consulting assessed the benefits of Geoscience Australia’s Mineral Potential Mapper based on the assumption that the Gonneville deposit at Julimar becomes a mine. Every dollar invested by the Australian Government into the Mineral Potential Mapper released in 2016 has been estimated by ACIL Allen to generate at least $1,000 dollars and as much as $1,500 dollars of additional benefits to the economy (ACIL Allen Consulting, 2022. Mineral potential mapper: A Geoscience Australia Case Study) 
• new and increased investment, particularly in regional economies
• increased tenement uptake with over 490,000 km² attributed to precompetitive geoscience from 2016, as a result of the program across Australia, and 35,000 km² of tenements for natural hydrogen exploration
• provision of vital information to secure water resources for communities, inform agricultural developments and increase the knowledge and understanding of natural resources
• supported more than 900 jobs for contractors and small businesses across Australia.

The program delivered more than 1,000 datasets, publications and reports, and is helping to build Australia’s resources wealth and secure the future of our resources and agricultural sectors – vital to supporting our communities and Australia’s transition to net zero by 2050.

Geoscience Australia continues to build on program findings to provide consistent national coverage and generate positive outcomes with long-term impacts. 

Read our case studies that showcase our work, community stories, and benefits and impacts of the Exploring for the Future program.