Global mining exploration in crisis, but not hopeless – report...

Global mining exploration in crisis, but not hopeless – report says

http://www.miningweekly.com/article/global-mining-exploration-in-crisis-but-not-hopeless-report-2015-06-30

Extracted drilling comments:

“The report, which was released on Monday, noted that from 2010 to 2013, the yearly number of discoveries, excluding bulk commodities, declined by more than half, even after adjusting for discoveries yet to be drilled out.

The report highlighted that the sharp decline in discoveries occurred despite a period of significant increases in exploration spending, with “giant” discoveries dropping to only one or two a year. At the height of the recent resources boom, average yearly exploration expenditure grew by almost 40% to record levels.

Koch noted that the crisis in mineral exploration had "flown under the radar" for much of the mining industry. "Since the end of the resources boom, most mining companies have now shifted their focus to productivity and cut back sharply on exploration spending, which has exacerbated the depletion of resources and reserves."

Cyclical increases in drilling costs and the depletion of easy pickings only partly explained the discovery drought.

It also found that while science had its place, it was “no substitute for field observation and drilling”.

Report sounded more motivational than anything else. No hard numbers on the fall of drilling expenditure dollars.