Under the program, mineral, coal, petroleum and geothermal explorers can apply to recover half the costs of drilling, up to a limit of $150,000 per proposal.

One condition is that applicants must have granted tenure over the area to be explored to be eligible for a grant.

This marks the sixth round of the CDI, which is part of the $18 million Greenfields 2020 program announced on July 1 as part of the broader $29 million Smart Mining – Future Prosperity program.

Mines and Energy Minister Stephen Robertson said exploration is vital to maintain the growth of the state’s mining industry.

"We announced Greenfields 2020 in the state budget because we are committed to establishing Queensland as Australia's greenfield exploration capital by 2020," he said.

"The grants enable companies to apply new concepts or ideas in areas of the state that may never have been explored or considered a high investment risk because of the costs involved."

Robertson said the Smart Mining program had boosted exploration expenditure.

"Exploration investment in Queensland has increased from $240 million in 2004 to $816.5 million in the 12 months to March 2010.''

During the first four rounds of the CDI, 55 exploration companies have received more than $6 million in collaborative drilling grants to carry out 79 drilling projects worth over $22 million.

"There are already 27 technical successes related to the discovery of mineralisation and geology, prompting further drilling in their respective areas," Robertson said.

Over the next four years, the government has allocated $55.8 million to encouraging greenfields exploration, $12.5 million to streamlining the processing of mining and petroleum projects through the regulatory system, and $10.7 million to upgrading tenure management systems.

Companies will have until Friday, April 1, 2011, to apply for grants under Round 6 of the CDI.