THUNDER BAY, ONT. — The Ontario government has announced it is investing up to $10 million and is launching the next intake for the Ontario Junior Exploration Program (OJEP) for 2025 to support early-stage mineral exploration.
The investment will help junior mining companies and licensed prospectors cover early exploration and development costs.
According to a release, early exploration is often high-risk, with long odds of success. There’s only about a one in 1,000 chance of exploration projects becoming a mine.
“The uncertainty, combined with the need to operate in remote regions and challenging terrain, makes it difficult for companies to secure the necessary investment needed to move projects forward,” the release reads. “By helping companies and prospectors offset these costs, Ontario is laying the groundwork for long-term growth in the mining sector.”
In particular, the OJEP helps cover up to 50 per cent of eligible costs for exploration and development projects.
The province is introducing two features in this intake that it states will help accelerate critical mineral projects:
- New Prospector Stream: Licensed Ontario prospectors can now apply for up to $50,000 per project, with additional Indigenous participation support, bringing the total potential funding to $65,000 per applicant.
- Enhanced Indigenous Participation Funding: The support for Indigenous employment and business opportunities has increased from $10,000 to $15,000 per project on top of core program funding.
With the addition of the new funding stream and the enhanced Indigenous participation funding, prospectors will now be eligible to receive up to $65,000 per project (including enhanced Indigenous Participation Support) and junior mining companies will be eligible to receive up to $215,000 per project (including enhanced Indigenous Participation Support).
Applications for the sixth intake of OJEP will be accepted online through the Transfer Payment Ontario until July 31 at 4 p.m. EST. Funding through the program will be provided to approved projects on a first-come, first-served basis.
