7 March 2016
(Yellowknife, NT – March 7, 2016) Mineral exploration and deposit appraisal spending projections are ‘down’ in all three Canadian territories. Natural Resources Canada’s (NRCan) latest semi-annual report Exploration and Deposit Appraisal Expenditures, by Province and Territory provides the following spending intentions for 2016:
The majority of spending in the NWT in 2016 is expected to be for diamonds and in Nunavut, precious metals. Senior companies in the NWT and Nunavut are projected to dominate exploration spending with 67% and 75% of the 2016 totals respectively. The majority of 2016 spending is projected to be on deposit appraisal (67% in NWT and 57% in Nunavut), with the remainder on grassroots exploration.
NRCan has also updated reported 2015 expenditures which were:
As a share of projected Canadian investment in 2015, Nunavut remained in fifth place, and the Yukon and NWT switched places, with NWT now in sixth position and Yukon in seventh.
NRCan reported that total Canadian exploration and deposit appraisal expenditures for 2015 were $1,709.2 million, a decrease of 15% from $2,017.4 million in 2014. Under the current projections, spending intentions for 2016 would see a further decrease of 18% or $308 million.
Charts for northern Canada’s historical and projected mineral exploration and deposit appraisal performance are attached as a Backgrounder to this release. NRCan’s data can be downloaded by clicking here.
For more information on the NWT and Nunavut mining industries, contact Tom Hoefer, Executive Director at Tel: 867-873-5281 or email: executivedirector@miningnorth.com. Visit the Chamber website at: www.miningnorth.com.