The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has revealed that mineral exploration expenditure rose during the March quarter, while the rate of discoveries has decreased.
During March, expenditure reached $910.4 million — the highest March figure on record — yet metres drilled for greenfields and brownfields fell by 33.4% to 496.4km and 21.1% to 1,502.8km, respectively.
The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) says the percentage differences between the fall in expenditure and the fall in metres drilled shows the impact rising costs are having on the exploration sector.
AMEC CEO Warren Pearce says the new March record shows a 2% ($14.5 million) year-on-year growth.
However, that record “more accurately portrays the impact of rising costs within the exploration sector,” he adds.
But compared to the similarly record-setting December quarter, mineral exploration expenditure fell 16% to $631.8 million for existing deposits, while spending at new deposits fell 23.1% to $278.6 million.
The ABS statistics also found that selected base metals recorded the largest expenditure fall by mineral by 27.3% to $198.5 million. Other minerals exploration expenditure also fell 24.2% to $174.6 million.
During March, Western Australia saw an overall decline across all mineral categories, with nickel exploration expenditure decreasing from $68.3 million to $42.7 million.
The AMEC notes that the challenges faced by the state’s struggling nickel sector have flowed through to nickel exploration.
The ABS March 2024 quarterly statistics revealed that South Australia saw its highest value of greenfield expenditure at $47.2 million, eclipsing the previous high set last quarter at $44.4 million.
The AMEC says this can be mostly attributed to the effort to define the copper resource at Oak Dam, since without that investment, the rest of the state’s sector would look weaker.
In Queensland, overall expenditure decreased 23% to $127 million, and South Australia’s overall expenditure also decreased 10.7% to $71 million.
Expenditure also fell in Victoria by 1.7%, Tasmania by 11.8%, and New South Wales by 11.3%.
Pearce says: “Continually strong investment to discover critical and base metals highlights the importance of government co-funded investment programs, and the diversity of investor demands.”
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
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