Collective spending on exploration for minerals in Africa is projected to fall by 10% or $111.2 million this year, maintaining the region's record-low 12% share of the global budget for a second consecutive year, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence's Metals and Mining Research team.
Spending has been dragged down by lower allocations to the continent's top exploration destinations -- Democratic Republic of Congo, Burkina Faso, Ghana and South Africa, which contributed a collective $95 million cut, or 85% of the total decrease.
DRC failed to recover from 2019 cutbacks, recording the region's largest budget decline in dollar terms with a 19% drop to $140.5 million from $174.2 million, closely followed by Burkina Faso, which was down by $29.7 million, or 22%.
