Australia invites Indian investors to explore uranium, gold deposits

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New Delhi, Mar 13: Keeping in view the proposed India-Australia free trade agreement (FTA), the visiting Premier of South Australia province, Mike Rann urged for boosting trade ties and invited Indian investment in exploration of uranium, gold, copper, zinc, zircon and iron ore.

He said that that uranium explored in Australia could be exported only to countries, which signed the Nuclear non-proliferation Treaty (NPT). He informed that Reliance Industries entered into a joint venture with Uranium Exploration Australia to explore uranium in South Australia and in the neighbouring northern territory. In an interactive session with the industry organized by FICCI on Thursday, Rann marketed his province as an ideal destination for Indian investors. In 2004 the Australian government had simplified mining laws for participation through joint ventures. He said that about 163 uranium licenses have been issue and applications of other100 bidders were in consideration. He said that exploration expenditure in South Australia increased almost nine-fold in five years. Canada's Fraser Institute has ranked South Australia at no 5 out of 65 global mining jurisdictions. The Olympic Dam ore body in South Australia's north-eastern desert would become the world's greatest mine, about trillion dollar in value, he said.