Promoters of South Australia"s booming minerals resources sector have embarked on a campaign to attract more investment in exploring for nickel in this State.

PIRSA exploration geology project manager Martin Fairclough says nickel had all but been largely ignored in South Australia.

"The overwhelming success of South Australia to attract a flood of new exploration investment in the past few years, underpinned by the State Government-based PACE funding program which assists with drill costs - has pushed nickel aside," Martin Fairclough says.

"There has just been too much choice in South Australia - gold, uranium, copper and mineral sands to name a few - so nickel has not had a look-in. Everything else has been booming but it has been very quiet on the nickel front in South Australia.

"We are now seeking to change that as there is nickel potential throughout the key Musgrave, Gawler Craton and Curnamona Cratons.

"Encouragement is being given to nickel explorers to focus on a number of lead potential prospects including Black Hill, just 85 kilometres north-east of Adelaide, which has abundant disseminated sulphides and has recently been drilled by Inco, one of the world's largest nickel producers.

"Other preferred targets include Lake Harris, Aristarchus, the Fowler Domain, Coompana and Yumbarra aeromagnetic anomaly."

Martin Fairclough says there were early encouraging signs for future nickel investment, with several proposals among the dozens of applications received for the current round of PACE funding, for nickel drilling.