More ground is being made available for critical minerals exploration in the Stavely Arc, Western Victoria, following the success of the Stavely Ground Release in 2018.
Ground covering 11,000 square kilometres will soon be available for exploration which has potential to uncover copper, gold and other valuable metals, as well as mineral sands and gypsum.
The Stavely Arc is a geological zone running from near Mildura to Terang, the newly available ground covers parts of the Wimmera, north and east of Hamilton and around Mortlake.
Geologists believe that 500 million years ago western Victoria was on the border of a super-continent called Gondwana, giving it a similar geological environment at the time to the copper-rich Andes in South America.
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The first ground release in 2018 saw 11 large blocks of land made available to the market, resulting in six blocks of land being licenced.
“Exploration in western Victoria has had promising results and lifting the temporary holds on licence application now will bring vital jobs and revenue to the region,” Victorian Resources Jaala Pulford said.
“Minerals are a key part of our everyday essentials like technology, building materials and medical supplies and are also needed for renewable energy infrastructure.”
In coming months, community briefings will be held to ensure positive relationships are developed between future exploration licencees, landholders and locals.