The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) has welcomed a new Junior Mineral Exploration Tax Credit (JMETC) as visionary and great news for Australians.

The weekend announcement by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull would see a $100 million JMETC in effect for four years.

AMEC chief executive officer Simon Bennison said it came at a time where IPOs and mineral-related greenfield drilling had been at an all-time low.

The JMETC allows mineral exploration companies (with no mining income) to renounce and pass future tax deductions (losses) to their Australian resident investors.

“Mineral exploration is a long-term, high-risk activity which needs scarce equity capital in a globally competitive market place,” Mr Bennison said.

“Tax credits under the JMETC will be available to new capital raisings, more akin to the Canadian model.

“The credit to investors will represent 30 per cent of the eligible greenfield mineral exploration expenditure incurred, and renounced by the company. This is an extremely attractive arrangement which should result in more investors entering the equity market.”

Mr Turnbull said the JMETC would encourage ‘junior explorers’ to take risks and to have a go at discovering the next large-scale mineral deposit.

“We want to back enterprise. We want to turn around the greenfields minerals exploration expenditure that have declined by almost 70 per cent over the past five years,” he said

Tax credits of up to $100 million over four years will be made available from this financial year on a first-in first served basis consistent with arrangements to be administered by the Australian Taxation Office.