Junior explorers receive up to $30 million tax credits

According to Mining News Pro - JMEI is a tax credit arrangement that allows mineral exploration companies with no mining income to raise capital, and to renounce and pass future tax deductions to their Australian resident investors

The money raised must be spent on greenfields mineral exploration in Australia.

Battery metals explorer Liontown Resources was a company that received $1.5 million in tax credits.

Liontown is progressing three sites, including the Kathleen Valley lithium prospect in Western Australia, the Buldania lithium project in the Eastern Goldfields province of Western Australia, and the Toolebuc vanadium project in Queensland.

The JMEI paves the way to more greenfields exploration, increasing the chances of finding the next mine, and therefore “more jobs and revenues for local businesses,” according to Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) chief executive Warren Pearce.

“Reaching the JMEI cap shows the importance of this initiative to the mineral exploration sector,” he said.

“AMEC played a leading role in the JMEI implemented and funded with $100 million over four years and will be advocating for an extension and an increase in the funding allocation.”

Last year, 46 applicants were successful in accessing exploration credits. Each applicant was limited to five per cent of the available credits on a first come first served basis.