Mineral exploration hits record level

Western Australia continues to lead the nation in mineral exploration expenditure, recording a second consecutive quarterly rise to reach a record high of $293 million for the September quarter, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

While the national total rose 12.1 per cent to $563 million, the WA figure represents a 16.4 per cent rise from the June quarter, and was the second largest rise across all states.

The biggest increase came from the Northern Territory, which recorded a 42 per cent increase for the quarter to reach $33.4 million on the back of a rise in greenfields exploration.

Victoria was the only state to record a drop in expenditure.

Broken down by mineral, iron ore exploration remained at the top in WA for the second quarter in a row, with expenditure up 22.6 per cent to $104.5 million.

Gold has the second biggest spend, up 8.8 per cent to $76.5 million, followed by nickel and cobalt, up 16.5 per cent to $61.5 million.

WA also leads the nation in petroleum exploration expenditure, which rose 4 per cent for the quarter to reach $546.5 million.

All other states, with the exception of South Australia, recorded a drop in petroleum exploration.