Australian exploration companies are prioritising gold and copper but overlooking iron ore, according to new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Despite a weaker December quarter, gold exploration expenditure achieved a new annual record in 2021, with $1.6 billion spent across the year. In 2020, $1.32 billion was spent on Australian gold exploration.
Copper exploration expenditure reached a new record in the December quarter of 2021, with the $172.1 million spent a $16.8 million increase from the next highest mark achieved the quarter prior.
Mineral sands exploration expenditure also scaled to new heights, with the $14.1 million spent trumping the $13.2 million invested the quarter before. A total of $265.4 million was spent on exploring selected base metals, also a record for this category.
This came as iron ore exploration expenditure dropped by 25 per cent in the December quarter to $130.9 million. This was still the third highest quarterly figure since the last three months of 2014.
Coal exploration spend decreased by 20 per cent to $53.4 million for the quarter, amounting to a 23 per cent drop in annual coal exploration expenditure for 2021.
Minerals Council of Australia chief executive officer Tania Constable said while the overall exploration figures were encouraging, more needs to be done to elevate exploration projects into production.
“The lead time from discovering a mineral deposit to opening a new mine often exceeds 15 years,” she said in a statement. “More needs to be done to ensure exploration is converted into the development of new mines.
“Australia has lagged behind in discovering new major deposits of the copper, nickel and cobalt the world needs as it transitions to a net-zero emissions future. We risk missing out on the enormous opportunities the growth in demand for these commodities presents our economy.”
Constable called on more government funding for pre-competitive survey programs, including Geoscience Australia’s Exploring for the Future initiative.
“To speed up the development of these prospects, effective, comprehensive and complementary productivity enhancing policies are needed to ensure that Australia does not lose mining and minerals processing opportunities to economies that offer lower construction and energy costs, as well as lower taxes,” she said.
Australian greenfield mineral exploration set a record of $1.21 billion in 2021, topping the previous high of $1.13 billion from 2012.
The record came despite a slower December quarter which saw exploration of new deposits fall 9.6 per cent ($32.4 million) to $305.9 million compared to the September quarter.