Australian companies are spending more on exploration with nearly $1.5 billion spent on mineral and oil and gas drilling and other exploration in the three months to December 31.
It’s another sign the resources boom remains strong and companies have not cut their spending on trying to find new deposits, despite the fuss over the resources rent tax issue last year
Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics yesterday showed that total mineral exploration expenditure rose 2.7% (or $16.9 million) to $644.8 million in the December quarter 2010, while the estimate for the current quarter’s spending is 20.1% higher than the December quarter 2009 figure.
The ABS said that the largest rise this quarter was in South Australia (up 14.4% or $6.8m), while Victoria had the largest fall (down 13.5% or -$1.8m).
In original terms, mineral exploration expenditure rose 5.1% (or $33.9m) with South Australia seeing the biggest rise (up 25.5% or $12.1m), followed by Queensland (up 8.4% or $10.9m).
In original terms, exploration on areas of new deposits rose 13.6% (or $32.8m), while expenditure on areas of existing deposits rose by just 0.3% (or $1.2m).
In original terms, the largest rise by minerals sought came from expenditure on coal exploration (up 18.9% or $16.1m), with the much of that increase occurring in Queensland. (Which is no wonder given the continuing rise in global coal prices, especially for hard coking coal).
The next largest rise came from expenditure on copper exploration (up 18.7% or $12.9m).
In seasonally adjusted terms, total metres drilled rose 1.5% in the December quarter 2010. In original terms total metres drilled fell 4.5%.
Drilling in areas of new deposits rose 2.1% and drilling in areas of existing deposits fell 8.4%.
Expenditure on petroleum exploration for the December quarter 2010 fell 0.1% (or down $800,000) to $849.6m.
In the December quarter 2010, the largest fall in petroleum exploration expenditure was in Western Australia (down 6.3% or -$37.9m), followed by Queensland (down 13.6% or -$19.8m). New South Wales showed the largest rise (up 158.4% or $33.1m).
The ABS said spending on exploration on production leases fell 2.2% (or -$6.0m) to $267.4m, while exploration on all other areas rose 0.9% (or $5.2m) to $582.2m this quarter.
Offshore exploration rose 0.5% (or $3.3m) to $643.2m, while onshore exploration expenditure fell 1.9% (or -$4.1m) to $206.4m.
To give exploration some context, the annual figure of around $6 billion(at current rates), is more than the revenues for the Australian commercial TV and radio industries put together.
