Categories: General Market Commentary / Precious Metals
Topics: General Market Commentary / General Precious Metals

Australia Is Seeing A Mineral Exploration Boom, Spending Hits A 5-Year High

Dec. 5, 2018

(Kitco News) - Mineral exploration in Australia is up more than 25% on an annual basis, with Western Australia seeing a gold exploration boom, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

In the third quarter alone, Australian exploration was up 3.6% at AUD $561.4 million (USD $413.64 million), marking the highest level of spending in five years.

Western Australia was one of the most promising regions in the country, with mineral exploration rising 4.7% in Q3, ABS said.

Majority of new spending was focused on gold exploration, which climbed 8.5% to AUD $18.8 million (USD $13.7 million).

In Western Australia, gold exploration hit a staggering 30-year high in Q3, with the region spending AUD $174 million (USD $127 million) on the search for the yellow metal, ABS pointed out.

The figures were boosted by miners exploring new deposits, up 13% during the third quarter.

Drilling exploration was also on the rise, advancing 22.5% on an annual basis and 5.8% on a quarterly basis.

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