Mineral exploration in the Territory is booming according to new figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics with $40.4 million worth of expenditure for the June 2021 Quarter, up 66% on the June 2020 quarter - the highest rise in Australia and the highest quarterly expenditure recorded in the NT, for any quarter, since 2012.
For the 2020-21 financial year mineral exploration expenditure in the NT was $128.3 million, up 4% on the figure of $123 million for 2019-20.
Figures also show that 70% of the Territory's expenditure was from Brownfield areas, reflecting large drilling programs being carried out by Core Lithium, KGL Resources, Bacchus Resources, Castile Resources, Newmont and Vista Gold.
Under the multimillion dollar Resourcing the Territory initiative, the Territory Government is supporting mineral and petroleum exploration and development across the region.
The initiative provides high quality geoscience to attract companies into the area and offers grants to support innovative exploration activities. This initiative is currently seeing some really promising results in the Barkly region.
The mineral exploration sector in the Territory is expected to remain strong well into the future, with an increase in Greenfields exploration as drilling and survey programs continue in the Barkly Region.
