Australian Mineral Exploration: Sunshine after Storms?

Although exploration is languishing at a 20 year low, the outlook is the best for five years. Metal prices are forecast to improve over the next several years. Australia remains highly prospective and discoveries continue to be made both in proven and greenfields provinces. Exploration in the past 10 years has added significant resources - notably gold, nickel, mineral sands, tantalum - at low cost. Major potential exists undercover. As a result of Government programs over the past decade, a wealth of geoscience data is available either free or at very low cost. These are playing an important role in opening up the under explored frontier provinces to exploration.