Metals Economics Group
P.O. Box 2206
Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 3C4
CANADA
Phone: (902) 429-2880
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Metals Economics Group's 1197 edition of Corporate Exploration Strategies: A Worldwide Analysis , shows a substantive increase in nonferrous exploration spending for the fourth year in a row. This year's study reports on the exploration programs at 279 companies representing $4.03 billion in corporate exploration expenditures (approximately 79% of worldwide expenditures), up from $3.52 billion detailed for 223 companies in 1996.
MEG estimates total 1997 worldwide nonferrous exploration expenditures at about $5.1 billion, up about 11% from the $4.6 billion estimated for 1996. (This total figure includes estimates for budgets that MEG was not able to obtain, exploration spending by private companies that do not publish their figures, and exploration by junior companies that are each spending less than $3 million on their 1997 exploration programs.)
The accompanying graph shows the regional distribution of 1997 exploration spending reported by the 279 nonferrous companies surveyed.
Latin America is once again the top region for exploration expenditure, with the surveyed companies budgeting $1.17 billion (29% of the total), followed by Australia at $673.4 million (16.7%), Africa at $662.6 million (16.5%), the Pacific/Southeast Asia region at $440.4 million (10.9%), Canada at $435.9 million (10.8%), and the United States at $364.6 million (9.1%). Spending in the rest of the world, including Europe, the Middle East, CIS, and Asia, is a combined $282.9 million (7%).
| 1997 Worldwide Exploration Spending by Location | |
| (279 Companies' Budgets Totaling $4.03 Billion) | |
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With newly liberalized mining codes in many countries, Africa is attracting the largest increase in spending this year. Budget allocations for Africa rose to $662.6 million from $418.3 million in 1996, a $244.3 million increase that brings Africa's share of the overall spending total to 16.5% in 1997 from 11.9% in 1996. Latin America shows a large increase in spending for the fourth year in a row, rising by $207.1 million to $1.17 billion from $963.2 million in 1996 and bringing Latin America's share of total spending back up to 29% after a fall to 27.3% in 1996. Increases in expenditure for other regions are quite modest this year. Budget allocations for the Pacific/Southeast Asia region rose by $25.8 million to $440.4 million from $414.6 million in 1996, but slid in percentage to 10.9% from 11.8%. Our rest-of-world category shows a $24.4 million increase to $282.9 million from $258.5 million in 1996 (remaining at about 7% of the overall total), while exploration activity in the United States rose by $21.8 million to $364.6 million from $342.8 million in 1996, slipping in percentage to 9.1% from 9.7%. Allocations for Australia are holding steady, rising by only $7.5 million to $673.4 million from $665.9 million in 1996, but dropping in percentage to 16.7% from 18.9%. Canada is the only area showing a decrease in expenditure this year, with a $24.9 million reduction to $435.9 million from $460.8 million in 1996 and a corresponding decrease in percentage to 10.8% from 13.1%.
These are some of the conclusions drawn from Metals Economics Group's eighth edition of Corporate Exploration Strategies: A Worldwide Analysis, published in September 1997.
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