MINING IN CHILE — Gold exploration spending drops

Spending on gold exploration in the U.S. dropped US$6 million in 1993 as mining companies continued to devote more of their budgets to searching for deposits in Latin America and other countries, says Michael Brown, vice-president of The Gold Institute of Washington, D.C.

The findings are contained in the institute’s annual exploration survey. Brown says U.S. producers increased their exploration budgets last year, to US$264 million from US$252 million, but the share devoted to U.S. activity fell to 54% from 60%. The money that is being spent in the U.S. is primarily going towards expansion of existing mines rather than on uncovering new mines. Exploration spending in Latin America posted a 49% increase, rising to US$58 million from US$39 million in 1992. In other regions of the world, exploration activity rose 9%, to US$22 million from US$15 million. Companies participating in the survey are mainly seniors which account for 74% of total U.S. gold production.