General comments/chat, page-16651

http://minexconsulting.com/survival-rates-and-financial-performance-of-australian-junior-explorers/

This is a research paper from 2015. Used a random sample of 100 ASX explorers from 2004, looking at where they ended up in 2014. Of the 100, 28 made it to production during that 10 year period. That's the 'good' news, a 28% conversion rate from explorer to producer. Of those new producers only 10 were still producing, with 5 bought out, 4 reverted to explorer, and 9 into administration (a 32% failure rate).

From this report then - 1/4 of explorers get to production, and almost 1/2 of those fail as a producer.

"Based on a random sample of 100 Junior Explorers listed on the ASX in July 2004, found that half of them were still active ten years later (in July 2014). The average age of the 52 survivors (as at June 2014) is 21.5 years; and the 48 casualties lasted 13.2 years. This gives a weighted average age of at least 17.5 years (and still counting).
Of the 48 companies that are no longer exploring, 28 of them built a mine (ie moved up the food chain to become producers). Unfortunately only 10 of these are still in the business of mining. Five of the companies were acquired and four closed down their mine and reverted back to being an explorer. The remaining nine companies went into administration. This is a very high failure rate – and highlights the riskiness of this sector"