The World Exploration Trends 2019 report found that the global exploration budget for nonferrous metals decreased to an estimated US$9.8 billion in 2019 from US$10.1 billion in 2018. The decline of 3% from the previous year in planned exploration spending by the global mining industry halts a two-year rebound in the exploration sector.
The lower 2019 budget was largely the result of challenging prices for many commodities throughout the year, and by M&A activity in the gold sector that impacted the exploration priorities of the merged companies.
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