The Queensland Exploration Council (QEC) said today new figures show national exploration expenditure has risen by almost 70 percent since the pandemic began, with Queensland explorers spending the second highest amount in their search for new resource discoveries.
QEC Chair Kim Wainwright said data released by resources analyst and QEC member AUSTEX Resource Opportunities confirms Queensland's exploration sector is on the rise.
"New, national data from AUSTEX shows an incredible 155% increase in Australian exploration expenditure over the past five years, to reach nearly $700 million in the second quarter of 2021," Ms Wainwright said.
"The data confirm the strong growth we saw in the latest ABS exploration figures released last month, which was the first time we've been able to look at how the exploration industry has performed over a 12-month period since the onset of COVID from June 2021 on the ABS exploration expenditure data.
View QEC's media release from June 2021 on ABS exploration expenditure data.
"Interestingly, nearly half of Australia's exploration expenditure in the June 2021 quarter targeted gold and silver, which reflects the recent strong growth of those commodity prices," Ms Wainwright said.
"We expected strong exploration expenditure growth for these commodity sectors, as we know there is a positive correlation between commodity prices and exploration expenditure, and this was specifically called out in QEC's 2020 Exploration Scorecard.
"We also know investors want to hear about Queensland gold projects, with a recent investor event showcasing QEC member Aeris Resources' Cracow gold project, located 500km North-West of Brisbane, attracting strong interest.
"Brad Cox, the General Manager of Geology at Aeris Resources, presented the company's plans to further explore newly acquired tenements, with a commitment of $13 million to explore in 2022.
"AUSTEX's national data also shows oil and gas achieved second place at 13% of expenditure, with copper coming in third at 11%.
"Overall, this national data shows the exploration industry is once again thriving and we look forward to seeing continued growth for Queensland explorers," Ms Wainwright said.
Austex Resource Opportunities Pty Ltd (AUSTEX) is a Brisbane-based business and QEC member that provides independent information and data analysis on the status of all ASX-listed resource projects.
Click here to view the report from AUSTEX
