PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) has welcomed new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) that confirmed mineral exploration was on the upturn.

The ABS on Monday reported that total mineral exploration expenditure had increased by 3.4%, or A$12-million, in the December quarter, to A$369.5-million, with Western Australia’s exploration expenditure up A$10-million, or 4.3%.

In original terms, exploration expenditure rose by 6.2%, or A$23.6-million, to A$403-million, with greenfield exploration increasing by 15%, or A$17.1-million, and brownfields exploration increasing by 2.5%, or A$6.7-million.

In terms of minerals, miners exploring for gold delivered the highest increases, with gold exploration up 14.6%, or A$23.2-million.

“Western Australia led the growth, with exploration growing by A$15-million in the December 2016 quarter to A$263-million, a 5.9% increase on the September 2016 quarter,” AMEC CEO Simon Bennison pointed out on Monday.

“The key statistics are brownfield versus greenfield exploration.  To find the mines of tomorrow, Australia needs to boost its greenfield exploration.”

“The good news is that [the] statistics show Australia’s greenfield mineral exploration increased.”

Bennison noted that greenfield drilling rose 22%, while drilling in brownfield areas fell by 6% in the December 2016 quarter compared with the September 2016 quarter.

“While the growth is positive, brownfield drilling remains substantially larger than greenfield, with 1.1-million metres drilled compared to 659 000 m in the December 2016 quarter.”

“The increase in greenfield mineral exploration is attributable to a number of factors, including improved commodity prices. The federal government’s Exploration Development Incentive (EDI) could also be having a positive impact on greenfield mineral exploration as intended,” Bennison added.

AMEC has called on the government to roll over the funding for the EDI to 2017/18 and the forward estimates with the aim of increasing investment in greenfield mineral exploration.

“State and territory exploration incentive schemes or co-funded drilling programmes also continue to be crucial in encouraging innovative mineral exploration in Australia, and generate significant economic returns for the economy,” said Bennison.