The gold industry and mineral exploration in general have been going through some ups and down. Just a few months ago, everyone was panicking about reaching peak gold and lamenting the fact that there haven’t been substantial exploration. We have come to the end of the year and in retrospect, the world of gold is not about to implode just yet. Australia seems to have made some impressive finds. The industry increased its mineral exploration by more than 25 percent so far and the year is not out yet.
According to stats released by the Australian bureau of Statistics (ABS), Australia’s exploration of precious metals was up by 3.6% and valued at AUD $561.4 million. This is the highest level of spending in five years.
According to ABS most of the mining exploration took place in the 3rd quarter and the increase is largely seen in Western Australia. The overall amount of money spent on mining exploration in the third quarter rose to 4.7%.
The majority of new spending in mining in on gold exploration and in the third quarter that amount rose by 8.5% to AUD $18.8 million.
Gold exploration in Western Australia hit a 30-year high in the third quarter. The region spent an overall if AUD $174 million searching for gold. These figures were boosted by mining companies exploring new gold fields.
There was also more drilling in the third quarter, advancing 5.8% per quarter and nearing 22.5% per annum.
Drilling exploration was also on the rise, advancing 22.5% on an annual basis and 5.8% on a quarterly basis.
There has been a lot of news regarding gold mining in the past couple of months and Australia has featured a lot in the headlines. The news was that Australia’s mining industry was growing despite the global fears that we may have reached peak. The news also featured sales that Australian mints made to countries like China. By all accounts, gold mining in Australia seems to be doing better than ever. According to analysts, production of gold in Australia totalled 81 tons by September and would reach record highs by the end of the year.
The rest of the gold producing countries have scaled down on exploration and are suffering production losses because of it. Gold exploration is tedious and expensive, but it is the most important part in the mining process. Australia’s increasing gold production is boosted by exploration. There is no denying that there is plenty of gold still to be found in the Australian outback and as some old mines close opportunities and new mines open elsewhere.
One reason economists have attributed to this record-breaking performance of the gold mining sector is the country’s weak currency. According to RBC Capital Markets director of global mining research Paul Hissey the outlook on gold in Australia is generally gold. He says: “there are strong margins and almost no debt in the gold mining sector.” The increase in explorations can add volume over the next couple of years.
RBC Capital Markets isn’t the only company rooting for gold to do well in Australia, Fitch Solutions also projected strong growth in their quarterly report. According to Fitch, gold output in Australia will rise at an average of 3% annually from 2018 to 2027.
Sources
- http://www.mining.com/mining-exploration-spending-australia-jumps-5-year-high/
- http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/0/7008565B2DD42E23CA25718C00151590?Opendocument