By Robert Anders | 08 February 2017
The exodus of the juniors continued as the African continent ceded third place to Canada for exploration in 2016. Posting the second-largest percentage decline (24%) of all regions in 2016, Africa dropped into fourth position last year with 13% of total allocations; however, the amount separating Africa from Canada was only US$55 million.
For the sixth time in the last seven years, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) dominated exploration in Africa, with allocations totaling US$142.8 million and 16% of the African total. South Africa held onto second place, with US$95.4 million budgeted for a wide range of targets and 10% of the African total. Meanwhile Burkina Faso remained in third place with planned spending of US$72.9 million (8%) almost exclusively for gold.