Australian Silica Quartz has attracted interest from a global investor and backing in the form of a State grant as it gears up to drill at its White Springs and Quartz Hill projects in Far North Queensland.

The company said it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a long-term investor in renewable energy infrastructure assets and energy transition businesses.

If the MOU proceeds to a binding agreement, ASQ will receive an upfront contribution towards exploration of its Queensland quartz projects with the aim of establishing a silicon-grade lump quartz mineral resource of at least 10Mt.

In return the investor will receive the rights to exclusive offtake of the first 10Mt of silicon-grade lump quartz.

The company has also been successful in the Round 7 Queensland Government Collaborative Exploration Initiative (CEI) Scheme, with $131,656 on offer for drill testing at the White Springs high-purity quartz project.

Related: Copper a major focus for CEI grant recipients

ASQ will drill the deposit to confirm the vertical and lateral extent of the quartz mass and drill samples generated will be utilised for metallurgical tests informing assessment of the deposit’s economic potential.

White Springs is located 50km west of Mount Surprise and rock chip samples have returned silica assays to 99.98 per cent SiO2.

The company believes White Springs has the potential for economic deposits of quartz suitable for processing into high purity silica products with applications in the electronics and solar silicon industries.

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It is one of three granted exploration permits the company holds in Far North Queensland with known quartz occurrences, including Quartz Hill.

Heritage clearance surveys are in progress for White Springs and Quartz Hill ahead of the drilling programs planned for mid 2023.