Global exploration budget seen increasing in 2022
The mining exploration sector has emerged strongly from the downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, with the aggregate global nonferrous exploration budget having increased by 35% year-on-year to $11.2-billion.
This is according to S&P Global Market Intelligence principal metals and mining analyst Kevin Murphy, who explains that a faster-than-expected recovery in market conditions and easing of lockdowns allowed explorers to reactive programmes by mid-2020, which caused some programmes to carry over into 2021.
“Along with higher metal prices and increased financing activities, this has led to a strong budget recovery in 2021,” he says.
S&P Global Market Intelligence is forecasting a budget increase of between 5% and 15% year-on-year for 2022. This means the exploration budget could be up to $12.8-billion next year – a level last seen in 2013.
While junior exploration budgets surged 62% year-on-year to $4.1-billion, majors continue to drive exploration, accounting for half of the global exploration budget at a total of $5.6-billion.
In 2020, grassroots share of allocations hit an all-time low of 24%, while minesite hit an all-time high of 41%, as the pandemic made some large-scale programmes more difficult. S&P states that while grassroots’ share recovered this year, owing to increased activity in Australia and Canada, its global budget share is the second lowest on record at 26%.
Overall, Canada has attracted a particularly big share of the global exploration budget in 2021, with an increase of $800.5-million year-on-year to $2.1-billion, hitting its record high since 2012.
Africa, however, underperformed with allocations of just 12% to $1.1-billion, returning the region to its 2019 level.
Comments
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
The SAIMM started as a learned society in 1894 after the invention of the cyanide process that saved the South African gold mining industry of the...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Rentech provides renewable energy products and services to the local and selected African markets. Supplying inverters, lithium and lead-acid...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
