Nearly $1.9 Billion for 2015 Canadian Exploration - Where Goes the Money?

Mining & Minerals - Evaluations / Mineral Exploration Activities - General

Date posted: 11/09/15

Greg Klein reports that newly released numbers offer a glimpse of how exploration money is being spent in Canada by location and commodity. The feds then compared their responses with figures going back to 2010. Not surprisingly, Canada is at a six-year low. Total spending intentions for 2015 sunk to $1,879.8 million, almost 6.7% lower than last year and a nearly 56% plunge from 2011. This year the total drops down to $1,037.3 million for exploration and $842.5 million for deposit appraisal. Nearly $1.9 billion on 2015 Canadian exploration: Where goes the money? Each jurisdiction share of nearly $1.9 billion planned for Canadian exploration and deposit appraisal in 2015. Ontario gets the most, $399.8 million or 21.3% of Canada total. Nearly 73% of the province outlay will go to the pursuit of precious metals. British Columbia comes second, with $355.8 million, or 18.9% of the total. Precious metals will get nearly 41% while base metals get about 29%. About $297.1 million, or 15.8% of the national total, goes to third-place Saskatchewan. Uranium gets nearly 52% of that. Quebec share comes to $280.9 million, or 14.9%, with nearly 40% of that being spent on precious metals. Nunavut places fifth nationally with $202.5 million or 10.8% of Canada total. Precious metals projects attract almost 80% of the territory spending this year. Several jurisdictions improved over last year... showing increases of 21% for Saskatchewan (from $245 million to $297.1 million), 27% for Alberta (from $26.1 million to $33.2 million), 28% for Nunavut (from $158 million to $202.5 million), 30% for Manitoba (from $28 million to $36.4 million) and 44% for Nova Scotia (from $7 million to $10.4 million). Nor do all minerals have spending on six-year lows. Although coal sits at a five-year low of $113.1 million, that is nearly double the amount spent in 2010. Uranium exploration and appraisal gets $172.1 million in 2015, a bit better than its 2013 low of $167.4 million.