Exploration spending drop puts Canada behind U.S., Australia

Canada’s rank in terms of exploration for non-ferrous metals has dropped from first to third over the past year, according to a recent study by the Halifax-based Metal Economics Group.

Expenditures on Canadian projects by 161 companies worldwide have dropped by 30%, from $430 million last year to an estimated $302 million in 1992, says Corporate Exploration Strategies: A Worldwide Analysis. The U.S., where exploration spending has remained constant at about $363 million, jumps to first place in the global ranking. Australia, with $324 million, takes second place.

Rapidly catching up to Canada is Latin America, where the surveyed companies expect to spend $256 million in 1992, an increase of 28% over 1991 budgets. Overall, the companies plan to spend $1.7 billion on exploration this year. About 21.4% of that has been allocated to the U.S., 19.1% to Australia, 17.8% to Canada, 15.1% to Latin America and 26.6% in the rest of the world. The biggest spenders, with budgets ranging from $38 million to $103 million, include CRA, RTZ, De Beers, Anglo American, BHP, Placer Dome, Western Mining, Falconbridge Ltd., Gencor and Newmont Mining.