With the second-largest exploration budget decrease of US$156 million, or 12%, year over year, Africa has greatly underperformed most other regions as some major exploration programs wind down in 2019. The number of companies exploring in Africa has nevertheless increased slightly to 258, lowering the average budget to US$4.3 million in 2019 from US$5.3 million in 2018.
For an overview of African exploration budget trends in 2019,
access our interactive infographic >