The latest World Exploration Trends report from SNL Metals & Mining reveals that all company types cut their exploration activity sharply in 2013 in response to lower metals prices, uncertain demand, and poor market conditions. The result was a 29 percent decrease in estimated worldwide nonferrous metals exploration budgets compared with 2012.

SNL Metals & Mining’s 24th edition of Corporate Exploration Strategies (CES) shows that the mining industry’s total budget for nonferrous metals exploration was US$15.2 billion in 2013, significantly lower than the record US$21.5 billion total in 2012. The steep plunge in exploration budgets was due to a combination of investor wariness of the junior sector that made it difficult for most companies to raise funds, and a strong pullback by producing companies on capital and exploration spending to improve their margins.