mineweb.com / By Lawrence Williams / May 20, 2013
With
the recent weakness in metals prices – and in particular for gold –
exploration activity has seen a big decline with precious metals the
major affected sector.
According to a new State of the Market
report from research firm IntierraRMG, slumping metals prices, and
falling equity valuations, reflect serious uncertainty about the world
economy. The recent quarter ended with the Governor of the Bank of Japan
announcing a huge monetary stimulus, Europe bailing out the banking
system in Cyprus, disappointing employment figures in the USA and
worrying signs of a slowdown in the crucial Chinese economy. The
depressing economic scenario of the past couple of years has had a
serious knock-on effect over the minerals exploration sector.Exploration activity has been trending down since the end of October 2011, the report notes, and IntierraRMG monitored drilling reports from only 355 prospects followed in March this year. Gold exploration has been particularly weak, with activity reported from just 172 prospects in March, compared with 382 a year earlier – a fall of close on 55%.
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