Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics has shown high commodity prices in 2021 led to a surge in mineral exploration activity, with the strong performance mainly driven by the gold sector.
Gold exploration investment reached a record high of $1.6 billion across the country and total drilling increased 24 per cent to an all-time high of 13.2 million metres drilled, with exploration expenditure of $3.6 billion up 28 per cent from the previous year.
Minerals Council of Australia chief executive officer Tania Constable said the results were encouraging, but noted the lead time from discovering a mineral deposit to opening a new mine often exceeds 15 years.
She added: “More needs to be done to ensure exploration is converted into the development of new mines.
“We risk missing out on the enormous opportunities the growth in demand for these commodities presents our economy.
“Australia still remains under-explored, particularly at greater depths – to improve the chances of making a major new discovery, more government funding should be provided to pre-competitive survey programs.”
Constable noted these programs include Geoscience Australia’s Exploring for the Future, which creates detailed geological datasets for all exploration and mining companies to interrogate for signs of new mineral deposits.
