The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released its June 2024 quarterly statistics on mineral exploration expenditure, including a 1.6 per cent increase on FY2023 for annual spending nationwide.
According to the results, Australian mineral exploration expenditures reached a total of $1.015 billion for the June quarter, an increase of 11.6 per cent from the March quarter ($909.6 million) but 6.9 per cent lower than the previous corresponding period (JunQ23: $1.09 billion).
Annual expenditure nationwide for the financial year ending 30 June 2024 was a record $4.2 billion. Expenditure on greenfield exploration to discover new deposits increased by 9.4 per cent ($26 million) to $303.3 million, while brownfield exploration increased by 12.6 per cent ($79.7 million) to $712 million in the last quarter.
The full financial year expenditure on greenfield exploration was up one per cent ($13 million) to $1.3134 billion, while brownfields expenditure over the 12 months fell 8.8 per cent ($278.8 million) to $2.8863 billion.
Metres drilled for greenfield exploration rose this quarter by 33.8 per cent to 656.7km, and brownfield metres drilled increased by 29.5 per cent to 1,934.7km. Annually, greenfields and brownfields exploration metres drilled fell 14.2 per cent and ten per cent respectively with a softer second half through lower than historic March and June quarters.
AMEC Chief Executive Officer, Warren Pearce, said it was encouraging to see the latest mineral exploration expenditure figures increase from the previous quarter.
“With many challenges and the ongoing uncertainty around some federal legislation, the June quarter figures provide an important stocktake for the industry.
“There are positive signs, but there remains plenty of work to be done. The industry and investors need certainty moving forward, to build on the last quarter and finish the year strongly.”
Annual expenditure on greenfields exploration remains subdued and stalled at around $1.3 billion. Additionally, greenfields expenditure has fallen more than 50 per cent over a five-year period from FY20, which Mr Pearce said is concerning.
“If we want to find new mines, we need greenfields mineral exploration investment and effort to lift.”
Despite the figures, South Australia saw a 6.9 per cent increase in total exploration expenditure to $75.9 million. Most of this can be attributed to a single project – the resource drill out at Oak Dam.
Queensland recorded an overall 10.2 per cent increase in total exploration expenditure to $139.9 million. This increase has been driven by strong exploration expenditure in base metals as well as silver, lead and zinc, which are up across the quarter.
Expenditure in Victoria in the June quarter rose by 15.6 per cent, with Tasmania jumping by 14.7 per cent. Meanwhile, New South Wales had a slight fall of 1.1 per cent in expenditure, with expenditure in all mineral commodities falling, except for copper which was up by 10.7 per cent.
Western Australia led the nation, with an overall increase across all mineral categories. Nickel expenditure rebounded strongly this quarter, up 24.2 per cent ($10.3 million) to $52.9 million, however it remains well below historic averages (and down on June 2023 figures of $73 million).
“With a state election and wet season concluding, the Northern Territory saw a 52 per cent jump in base metals expenditure and a total expenditure of $47.8 million, an increase of 16.9 per cent on the March quarter,” Mr Pearce said.
“Mineral exploration is holding strong but remains in a holding pattern. The greenfield mineral exploration figures are a concern, and we need to do more to get onto the ground to find the mines of the future.”
Featured image: A R Turner/shutterstock.com
