New Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data has shown a significant jump in national mineral exploration expenditure during the June quarter, increasing by 24.8 per cent to $1.19 billion, fuelled by strong demand for gold.
Gold continued to dominate exploration spending, with expenditure increasing 23.6 per cent to $565.6 million during the quarter and year-on-year gold exploration expenditure rising 47.8 per cent to $1.93 billion.
“These results reveal an extraordinary quarter for Australian gold exploration, with more than half a billion dollars spent searching for gold in just three months,” Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) acting chief executive officer Neil van Drunen said.
“Gold exploration expenditure has jumped almost $108 million in a single quarter and is now 40 per cent higher than this time last year. The strong demand for gold in the market is providing confidence to explorers to get drill rigs on the ground, and we’re seeing that activity confirmed in these ABS figures.”
Greenfields exploration, which focuses on discovering new mineral deposits, also recorded strong growth during the quarter. Drilling metres rose 69 per cent as explorers ramped up the search for new deposits.
Greenfields expenditure increased 27.3 per cent to $274.5 million from $215.7 million in the March quarter, while spending was up 7.3 per cent compared with the June quarter of 2025.
Several commodities saw a spike in activity, with copper expenditure rising 29.2 per cent and silver, lead and zinc expenditure increasing 60.8 per cent. Iron ore exploration also increased 26.3 per cent.
Uranium recorded the largest percentage increase, with exploration expenditure rising 130 per cent to $15.4 million during the quarter.
“These results demonstrate geopolitical events haven’t dampened enthusiasm for exploration, and our industry is finding a way,” van Drunen said.
“When drill rigs are searching for new deposits and explorers are active, it bodes well for Australia and the possibility of finding future mines.
Queensland, South Australia, the Northern Territory and Tasmania each recorded exploration activity growth of around 50 per cent, while Western Australia increased by 23 per cent. New South Wales and Victoria recorded quarterly declines of around 5 per cent.
AMEC said the impact of Capital Gains Tax changes announced in the May Federal Budget was yet to be reflected in the figures, with the September quarter expected to provide an indication of whether the changes influence exploration investment.
