Blog — 26 Jun, 2022
World Exploration Trends 2022
By Mark Ferguson and Kevin Murphy
Highlights
Exploration budgets increased 35% to $11.24 billion in 2021 from $8.35 billion in 2020.
The increased in exploration activity in 2021 led to 68,880 drillholes, nearly 70% more than 2020.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February has created uncertainty over commodity markets and may have an impact on our global exploration budget forecast in 2022.
Despite continued challenges posed by the pandemic, 2021 proved to be profitable for the mining industry. Prices for most commodities continued to track upward from the last half of 2020, with some touching new highs. The bullish sentiment made its way into capital markets, boosting financings by junior and intermediate companies to $21.55 billion in 2021, approaching twice the $12.13 billion raised in 2020. The resulting increase in exploration activity year over year led to reported results from 68,880 drillholes, nearly 70% more than the 41,026 reported in 2020. Exploration budgets increased 35% to $11.24 billion in 2021 from $8.35 billion in 2020.
Going into 2022, how would the changing macroeconomic backdrop impact global exploration trends? To learn more, download our report.
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