A pre-election promise by the Federal Government is now being acted on by the NSW Government to give an old lease of life to old mines at Cobar and Nymagee and could ignite further investment and jobs in an large expansion of mining across the wider region.

As governments ramp up financial support for exploration to support new mining opportunities, reassessing the potential of mothballed sites is already reaping rewards.

Cutting edge scientific processes have found 28 current and historic mine sites which could have critical minerals and high-tech metals deposits hidden inside their old waste.

A Geological Survey of NSW’s Mine Reuse Project collected more than 1,200 samples.

These specimens were then run through the latest sampling techniques and underwent high precision chemical analysis to identify critical minerals.

This uncovered elevated concentrations of 11 critical minerals and high-tech metals, including copper, cobalt, silver and antimony.

“The Mine Reuse Project is a direct outcome of the government’s commitment to a Critical Mineral and High-Tech Metals Strategy that drives investment and innovation in the exploration and mining sector through the provision of world-class and targeted pre-competitive geoscience," said Chief Geoscientist and head of the Geological Survey of NSW, Dr Phil Blevin.

"The results of the Mine Reuse Project is just another example of this."

Historic mines where sampling occurred include CSA in the Central West, Queen Bee, Great Cobar and Nymagee in the Far West, Endeavour Elura and Endeavour McKinnons in the Central West, and Hillgrove in the Northern Tablelands.

Current mines where researchers were looking for additional materials include Peak Gold Mine and Tritton near Cobar, RASP and Southern Operations near Broken Hill, and Stratford in the Upper Hunter.

Critical minerals and high-tech metals are crucial for clean energy technologies, such as electric vehicles, solar panels, wind turbines, along with aerospace applications.

The International Energy Agency estimates that, over the next 20 years, the global economy requires six times the current amount of critical minerals to reach net-zero carbon emissions.

“The release of this data reinforces that NSW really is the state to be for explorers looking to find the next big critical minerals project," said Minister for Natural Resources Courtney Houssos.

“As key ingredients in our solar panels, wind turbines, EVs and batteries, critical minerals and high-tech metals are integral to our economic future.

"More exploration means more jobs and more investment in regional NSW."

The release of data from projects like this shows explorers and miners where to find the best opportunities for development and could see an increase on the 190 critical minerals exploration titles already being pursued across NSW.

The work for the Mine Reuse Project was undertaken in collaboration between the Geological Survey of NSW with the Sustainable Minerals Institute at The University of Queensland and Geoscience Australia.

This latest data release is part of the NSW Critical Minerals and High-Tech Metals Strategy 2024-35.

With both the NSW and federal governments backing the push for mining across the state, it is 'watch this space' for western plains districts with rapid take-up expected.

Government funding delivers targeted precompetitive geoscientific data including the recent commencement of the Central Lachlan Seismic Survey around Euabalong to Bathurst and Nyngan to Gilgandra.

NSW has also recently contributed $2.5 million to co-investment fund for critical minerals explorers and offered a $250 million 'royalty deferral initiative' for new critical minerals projects.

As well as exploration assistance, commercial interests say there is a growing need for governments to allow more new mines in the regions.

“This initiative recognises the ongoing growth in global demand for many of the valuable mineral commodities we have here in NSW," said NSW Minerals Council CEO Stephen Galilee.

“It also highlights the need for more mine approvals in NSW so we can play our role in meeting this global demand while also delivering economic benefits to regional communities.”