Yukon Explorer

Juniors spend more than $ 1B in 2006
By Melissa Pistilli

In 2006, resource companies spent more on mineral exploration in British Columbia that any two years since these records have been maintained. Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) reported last week in its Overview of Trends in the Exploration Canadian mineral, an annual overview of mineral exploration published by the Canadian government.

In case after case, the analysis of this sample took longer than the remarkable rebound of the exploration sector since the historic minimum of 2000 was more prevalent than ever in 2006. The projections remain encouraging for 2007.
In British Columbia mining exploration activity continued to shoot with 2006, the expenditure expected to exceed 2005, spending by over 22%. Although statistics for last year are still pending, the authors of the 2006 report estimated spending on exploration activities in BC at first $ 265 million. This achievement is less than 25% below Ontario, the leader in exploration spending in Canada. Quebec and British Columbia was on the same charges for the year.
Saskatchewan uranium-rich Athabasca Basin and adjacent areas have benefited enormously from the spot price is increasingly growing U308. An estimated $ 100 million was spent on exploration of this region in 2006 (74.6 million U.S. dollars in 2005). The western part of the basin has become the target of popular new gambling programs exploration and recent activities in the area have shifted from geophysical surveys to diamond drilling.
In general, statistics and trends presented in the report clearly reflected the prominent position of junior exploration and mining companies in the Canadian mineral exploration sector. This prominence, together with the positive market outlook for metals, it offers lucrative opportunities for investors.

In recent years, the junior mining sector has experienced an impressive comeback following the downward trend lasts from late 1990. For the third consecutive year, the expenses of the junior company exploration and evaluation Exceeded storage of high level companies. According to NRCan, "junior mining companies are big spenders of the commodity groups, conduct much of the drilling activity, and further increase their average spending year after year. "

In the past six years, NRCan has noted an upward trend in junior project expenditures, beginning slowly in 2000 and growing exponentially since 2003, had earnings of 44%, followed by 105% in 2004 and 30% in 2005. The total expenditure general wholesale and retail sectors are expected to increase by 32% over 1.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2005 to over $ 1.7 million in 2006.

632 for junior project operators (up from 387 in 2000) are expected to increase spending by 40% to over $ 1.1 billion in 2006. This is the highest figure ever recorded in the junior company spending. In comparison, the 104 operators of high-level project will only increase their total spending by 19% this year.

In the past, spending intentions over $ 10 million was primarily the stronger of the high level companies. In 2006, this category of expenditure is about evenly divided between senior and junior companies. NRCan reports that "operators of 30 projects with planned expenditure of more than 10 million U.S. dollars, 14 companies of young is expected to average $ 23.3 million in expenses and 16 are high-level companies are expected to average 27.2 million U.S. dollars.

Most mining provinces or areas will experience the intensity of these increases in spending less. NRCan reports that the largest increases occurring in:

or British Columbia – up to 88 million dollars
or Northwest Territories – up to 51 million U.S. dollars
and Quebec – up 40 million U.S. dollars
or Saskatchewan – up to 36 million U.S. dollars

In 2006, British Columbia, Ontario ($ 150 million), Nunavut ($ 149 million), Quebec and is expected that 62% of all business expenses junior in Canada. The Yukon ($ 79 million) and Newfoundland and Labrador ($ 67 million) will also benefit from a substantial increase in activity by the mining sector junior.

The report's authors attribute the influx of mineral exploration expenditures in Canada to the phoenix-like rise in commodity prices and mastery of basic changes in the junior exploration and mining sector. The authors also emphasize the government incentive programs that say they started to combat the stagnation of industry resources 1990s. These programs are typically provided in the form of tax benefits or cash assistance based projects.

About the Author:

Melissa Pistilli is a contributing writer with the Resourcex Investor, an internationally distributed newsletter specializing in identifying as-yet undiscovered resource companies representing the best in their class. For more information, visit the website www.resourcexinvestor.com.

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Resourcex Reports: Another Impressive Year for Canadian Exploration Companies