Western Australia has experienced the largest decline in exploration expenditure across all commodities for the March quarter at $530.6 million, down from $715 million in the September 2023 quarter.
The gross figure for exploration expenditure in Western Australia is down 19.5% quarter-on-quarter, or 4% year-on-year.
The worst hit commodities include copper, nickel, and base metals.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) mineral and exploration statistics show a concerning trend for industry with the level of exploration declining across the country. That’s the view of the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC), which notes exploration activity declined not only during the previous quarter but for the corresponding quarter last year.
ABS figures show an 18.4% drop in total exploration from the previous quarter, or $181 million in dollar value. Year-on-year this represents an 11.5% decline, or $105 million in exploration spend.
AMEC Chief Executive Warren Pearce says the latest ABS data demonstrates what the association and its members have been saying for some time now.
“Those on the ground are doing it tough. The barriers to exploration have never been higher and it’s extremely difficult to raise funds for exploration,” Pearce says.
“As an industry we keep being told how important we are to the economic security of our country, but we’re not seeing that support on the ground where it matters.
“Changes are needed to buck this trend. From land access and environmental approvals to coexistence issues with the renewables sector. These are struggles that were once on the horizon but are now in our face.”
From the highs of 2023, where total national exploration expenditure (greenfield and brownfield) quarterly spend was over a billion dollars, the figures show this has dropped to just over $800 million being spent ($804.7 million) in the March quarter.
Drilling down
There was a 21.9% drop on new exploration drilling from the December 2024 quarter, with all metres drilled down 11.6%.
While Western Australia experienced the biggest decline, the Northern Territory total expenditure is the lowest since the June 2017 quarter when $20.8 million was spent.
This past quarter, only $22.5 million was spent on exploration. There has been a 49% drop in greenfield exploration quarter on quarter in the NT and year-on-year exploration for greenfield exploration is down 54 per cent.
To provide context, in Q4 2023 $36.6 million was spent on greenfield projects. The March 2025 quarter shows only $7.3 million spent.
Queensland follows the same national trend with ABS data showing Queensland’s total exploration expenditure at $104.7 million for the past quarter, off the recent high of $165.9 million in the Q4 2023.
AMEC notes that figures for the Northern Territory and Queensland are in part reflecting the realities of the impact of the wet season, limiting exploration and drilling activity for these regions. This includes some extreme flooding in areas of Queensland.
Meanwhile, South Australia has seen a $28 million drop over an 18-month period. Going from $79.5 million in December 2023 quarter, to $51.7 million for the March 2025 quarter.
States that saw their quarterly expenditure increase for total exploration were New South Wales, up 6.1% and Victoria, up 18.1% total expenditure, with the latter recording stronger gold and minerals sands expenditure during the quarter.
Tasmania remained flat with a 2% rise for the March quarter to $10 million, although up strongly year-on-year and jumping 33%, to buck the national trend on an annual basis.
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: Gateway Mining
