PERTH (miningweekly.com) – New data by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has found that mineral exploration expenditure rose by 11% during the March quarter, to A$516.7-million, with Western Australia contributing the largest increase of some A$23.7-million.

In original terms, mineral exploration expenditure fell by 11.6%, to A$438.7-million in the March quarter, with greenfield exploration falling by 10.6%, or A$17.3-million, and brownfield exploration falling by 12%, or A$40.1-million, the ABS reported.

In original terms, gold exploration declined the most, falling 10.3%, or A$21.5-million during the March quarter.

In seasonally adjusted terms, petroleum exploration fell by 23.3%, or A$55-million, to A$181.4-million in the March quarter, with brownfield exploration increasing by 8.2%, or A$4.1-million, while exploration in all other areas fell by 31.7%, or A$59.2-million.

Onshore exploration fell by 2.3%, or A$1.8-milllion to A$76-million, while offshore petroleum exploration fell by 33.5%, or A$53.2-million to A$105.4-million in the March quarter.

Queensland’s Natural Resources, Mines and Energy Minister Dr Anthony Lynham said that while other states were facing a downturn in exploration, the state’s A$56-billion resources sector continued to outperform.

“Investment in Queensland minerals exploration has increased by an impressive 36% to A$266.6-million in 12 months and 6% since December 2017,’’ he pointed out.

“While the news has been good nationally (with a 25% increase), Queensland is outperforming the national average of exploration expenditure and, in fact, beating it by 11%.

“In addition to our strong investment climate, Queensland’s boost in minerals exploration expenditure has come from strong growth in exploration for copper (up 65%), gold (up 22%) and coal (up 21%) over the 12 months to March 2018.”

Lynham added that petroleum exploration expenditure also increased by 40% on the previous 12 months, to A$175-million, adding that Queensland continued to be the destination of choice for petroleum exploration in Australia.

“While Queensland continues to strengthen, other large petroleum producing states such as Western Australia, the Northern Territory and South Australia have unfortunately seen their expenditure go backwards, with national petroleum exploration expenditure experiencing a 23% decline.

“All evidence points to Queensland’s exploration windfall continuing to increase in coming quarters as global oil prices improve and gas producers continue to drill to ensure long-term gas for both domestic consumers and liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports,” he said.