Gold Leads The Way As Exploration Activity Picks Up In 2017 - S&P Global Market Intelligence
(Kitco News)- After four years of belt-tightening, the mining sectoropened up its purse string, allocating more funding for exploration programs,which gold companies leading the way, according to a report from S&P GlobalMarket Intelligence.
The report released Monday, during the 2018 2018 Prospectors& Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) convention, showed that Globalspending on exploration for nonferrous metals rose to an estimated $8.4 billionlast year, up more than 15% compared with US$7.3 billion in 2016. According tothe report, exploration saw its highest level of activity since 2013.
“Improved equity market support for explorers allowed manycompanies to launch or resume drill programs on their most promising projects,”said Mark Ferguson, Associate Research Director at S&P Global MarketIntelligence in a press release.
The research firm noted that gold exploration led the waythe sector spending more than $4 billion last year, up 22% compared to 2016. Atthe same time, the analysts noted that base metals, related to the batterysector saw a significant increase in exploration capital.
The research also shows that larger producers were moreconservative in their exploration budgets, with most of the activity comingfrom junior and intermediate companies.
Mining friendly jurisdictions Canada, Australia and the U.S.attracted to the most exploration capital, totaling $5.55 billion, the reportsaid.
Looking ahead, the report said that expect companies tocontinue to expand their exploration programs, with spending expected toincrease between 15% and 20% in 2018.
“Despite significant market volatility, thegenerally positive trend in metals prices has continued in early 2018,” saidFerguson.
By Neils ChristensenFor Kitco News
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