PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Australian mineral exploration expenditure fell by 9,7% from a record A$2,4-billion in 2007/8 to A$2,2-billion in 2008/9 according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Geosciences Australia reported that the fall in exploration expenditure was smaller than anticipated as major reductions in expenditure on base metals, gold and uranium were offset by spending on exploration for iron-ore, coal and other minerals such as phosphate, manganese, tungsten and molybdenum.

It reported that the Northern Territory was the only Australian jurisdiction which recorded an increase in exploration in 2008/9 with spending rising by 10%.

The fall in exploration spend in Western Australia was limited to 1% as iron-ore exploration underpinned activity in that jurisdiction. High levels of coal exploration in New South Wales and Queensland limited the overall falls in exploration expenditure in those states to 7,7% and 11,6% respectively.

In the other states, with limited or no exploration for iron-ore or coal, mineral exploration expenditure fell by more than 30%.

Drilling fell by 19% in 2008/9, while drilling in greenfields areas fell significantly by 31% compared with brownfields, which fell by 11%, confirming the continuing dominance of brownfields exploration.

World nonferrous mineral, including base metals, precious metals, diamonds, uranium but not coal or iron-ore, exploration budgets reported by the Metals Economics Group (MEG) fell from a record $14,4-billion in 2008 to an estimated $8,4-billion in 2009, a fall of 42%.

The government department said that this directly reflected the impact of the global economic downturn, which resulted in reduced demand for most minerals, especially base metals, and consequent substantial price falls for many of those commodities.