Australia’s minerals exploration on a stronger footing than a year earlier
Australia’s mineral exploration has had a stronger start to 2019 than 2018, despite recording a quarter-on-quarter decrease in expenditure and metres drilled in the first three months of the year.
Mineral exploration expenditure fell 16.1% to A$497.5-million for the March quarter, with metres drilled down 12% quarter-on-quarter.
Greenfield metres drilled fell 20.9% and brownfield metres drilled fell 6.6%. Greenfield exploration expenditure reduced by nearly one-quarter, or A$57.5-million, and brownfield mineral exploration expenditure fell 10.5%, or A$37.8-million.
“In original terms, mineral exploration numbers are lower than the previous quarter,” Association of Mining and Exploration Companies CEO Warren Pearce commented on Monday.
However, compared with the March 2018 quarter, the March quarter for this year had total expenditure that was 13% higher (A$58-million), and 18.3% higher metres drilled.
In this March quarter, greenfield expenditure was 21% higher than a year earlier, and brownfield expenditure was 9.6% higher than the March 2018 quarter.
2018 was a strong year for mineral exploration with total exploration expenditure growing by 19.3% across the year in original terms compared with 2017.
Pearce indicated that while March’s mineral exploration statistics were lower across the board than the end of last year, 2019 has started stronger than 2018.
He highlighted that following the Federal election, there was a clear mandate for the government to grow mineral exploration and deliver on the Resources 2030 Taskforce Report, with this having received bipartisan support.
“Mineral exploration is the future of Australian mining.”
Comments
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation