PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Mineral exploration expenditure in Australia rose by 2.5%, or A$14.3-million, to A$582.1-million in the September quarter, new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has revealed.

Greenfield exploration increased by 13%, or A$25.7-million, while brownfield expenditure fell by 2%, or A$7.5-million, the ABS reported.

Metres drilled during the quarter rose by 5.8%, with drilling in new exploration areas rising 7.2%, and drilling in brownfield areas rising 5.8%.

Mineral exploration expenditure fell in New South Wales by 21%, in Victoria by 8.6% and in Tasmania by 17%, but rose in Queensland by 21%, in South Australia by 7.6% and in Western Australia by 3%. 

“Mineral exploration is the lifeblood of the mining industry - greater exploration will lead to longer mine lives and future mines,” said the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies CEO Warren Pearce. 

“The rise in exploration in Queensland and Western Australia lifted national mineral exploration, but masked falls in New South Wales and Victoria.” 

“Most mineral exploration expenditure was spent pursuing gold, which was up 8.5%, or A$18.8-million, compared to the June 2018 quarter, and unsurprisingly over 60% of Australia’s mineral exploration occurred in Western Australia.”

The September quarter also saw a record A$174-million spent on gold exploration in Western Australia, 48% of the state’s mineral exploration was spent on gold,” Pearce pointed out.

“The significant disproportion between greenfield and brownfield exploration remains, with 62% of drilling in already explored brownfield locations. In the long term, this imbalance must be addressed if Australia is to find the future mines needed to sustain our industry.

“The federal government’s Junior Mineral Exploration Incentive which was oversubscribed in June is beginning to redress that disparity by attracting the much-needed equity capital to increase greenfield mineral exploration.

“Each mine starts with mineral exploration, and the growth seen in this quarter will mean more jobs, and more mines in the future,” said Pearce.