8412.0 - Actual and Expected Private Mineral Exploration, Australia, Mar 1999  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 21/06/1999   
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  • Expenditure on mineral and petroleum exploration continues to fall (Media Release)

MEDIA RELEASE

June 21, 1999
Embargoed 11:30am (AEST)
70/99

Expenditure on mineral and petroleum exploration continues to fall

Figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that the trend estimate for mineral exploration expenditure fell for the seventh consecutive quarter, with the March quarter 1999 estimate being 7% lower than the estimate for the December quarter of 1998.

In original terms, expenditure on mineral exploration in March quarter 1999 was $166 million, the lowest quarterly expenditure reported since the March quarter of 1993.

Falls in world commodity prices over recent times are reflected in this decreased expenditure for most minerals, with expenditure on gold exploration at its lowest level since June quarter 1993.

The number of metres drilled for mineral exploration has also fallen to the lowest level reported in 7 years, down to 1.2 million metres in the March quarter.

Petroleum exploration expenditure was also lower in the March quarter 1999, with the reported expenditure of $227 million being 11% lower than for the December quarter of 1998 and 14% lower than the March quarter of last year.

Details are in Actual and Expected Private Mineral Exploration, Australia, March Quarter 1999 (cat. no. 8412.0) available from ABS bookshops.