australia's identified mineral resources 2005 - Geoscience Australia

AUSTRALIA’S IDENTIFIED MINERAL RESOURCES 2005
FIGURE 5. Australian mineral exploration spending by State (Source: ABS)
In constant 2003–04 dollar terms, Western Australia, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and
Tasmania had exploration spending that was at its highest level for a number of years (Figure 6).
However, New South Wales was at the lowest level since before 1970 and the Northern Territory
was at its lowest since 1976–77.
FIGURE 6. Australian mineral exploration expenditures by State in constant 2003–04 dollars
(Based on ABS data deflated by Consumer Price Index series).
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Calendar Year 2004
On a calendar year basis, spending in 2004 rose by 24% to $920.6 million. This strong growth in
the calendar year compared to the 2003–04 financial year is attributed to the substantial increases
in spending in the second half of the year. Spending was $511.9 million in the second half of 2004
compared to $384.6 million in the equivalent period in 2003. This growth reflects strong growth in
price for many commodities on the back of anticipated strong and growing demand, particularly
from China.