The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today released its Mineral & Petroleum Exploration data for the September quarter, which revealed sharp falls in both components.
Nationally, expenditure on minerals exploration fell by a seasonally-adjusted $37.0 million (-7.8%) over the September quarter. The fall was driven by Western Australia, where exploration expenditure fell by $21.7 million (-7.7%). Expenditures also fell in the Northern Territory (down $10.7 million or 32.1%), Queensland (down $7.8 million or 8.5%), Victoria (down $3.2 million or 36.4%), and South Australia (down $1.2 million or 4.5%). By contrast, mineral exploration expenditures rose by $6.7 million (+24.0%) in New South Wales and by $1.0 million (+16.4%) in Tasmania (see below charts).
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