Minerals exploration spend falls for second consecutive year

EXPLORATION for minerals fell for the second consecutive year in 2024, sliding six percent to $12.5bn, according to a report by the Financial Times.Citing data from S&P Capital IQ, the newspaper said this was after exploration had been on a rising trend following the Covid pandemic.The decline was also despite increases in exploration for certain minerals such as lithium. Rising every year since 2020, capital spend finding the battery metal jumped 360% to $1.1bn in 2024, said the FT. Copper exploration rose by half over the same time period, although the $3.2bn investment in 2024 was marginally lower than the year before.Demand for battery and base metals, which are used in a broad range of products including copper wiring and electric car batteries, is expected to jump over the next decade, the newspaper said. Analysts have warned of looming supply crunches. There is now a glut of lithium supplies, forcing down prices.Exploration spending last year was “far worse” than it had been during the commodities boom more than a decade ago, said Kevin Murphy, director of metals & mining research at S&P Global Commodity Insights.The FT quoted him as saying inflation, tighter monetary policy and weak commodity markets had contributed to “caution from the majors”.In tougher conditions, exploration is “one of the first things that goes”. Gold attracted the most exploration money last year, at $5.6bn of the total, more than 40%. Combined spending on copper, lithium and nickel — the next most invested metals last year — rose to almost 40% of the 2024 total compared with 27% in 2020.Greenfield exploration was “a challenge” because investors “were not necessarily thinking 30 years ahead,” Ciara Talbot, head of exploration at Vale Base Metals told the FT.“In the mining business you’re looking quarter to quarter and looking to see production numbers.” However, that “has to change at some point, there’s only so much you can explore at existing mines”.The post Minerals exploration spend falls for second consecutive year appeared first on Miningmx.Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Mining.com