Delegates at the 2012 Investing in African Mining Indaba Com-modities Review and Outlook Forum will be provided with valuable market information, aiding miners and investors in making critical decisions on the development of new mining operations.

This year’s African exploration session speaker, mining industry information hub Metals Economics Group (MEG) VP David Cox, will provide an overview of recent trends in worldwide exploration and focus on recent exploration activity and financing in Africa, says MEG marketing director Nadine Tanner.

Cox’s most recent presentation on global mining exploration trends at the Minex Forum, in October last year, discussed the factors driving exploration spending, such as metals prices, available risk capital, reserve replacement efforts, discoveries and changing exploration costs. He also noted mining laws, investment incentives and the availability of geological survey information as conditions affecting exploration activity.

His presentation highlighted percentages of exploration spending and equity raised for gold exploration. In 2001, Africa had accounted for about 14% of worldwide mineral exploration, peaking in 2003 with 17% and by the end of 2010 this had decreased to 13%, but bounced back to 15% in 2011.

In 2009, South Africa was tenth in the world in global exploration activity, attracting around 3% of budgets, with Canada and Australia recording 16% and 13% respectively in first and second place.

South Africa dropped to fifteenth place in 2010, with less than 2.5% of global spend, while Canada and Australia attracted 19% and 12% respectively, he said.

Cox has been VP at MEG since 1999.

Further, he has presented keynote speeches and talks at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Commodities Forum, the Canadian Mines Ministers Conference, China Mining, Minex Moscow, as well as London Bullion Market Asso-ciation conferences.

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