#Mining Co’s #Exploration Spending Hits $10BN with search for #EV #BatteryMetals jumping 82% #Cobalt #Lithium

Exploration spending in the mining sector rose for a second year to near $10 billion as the industry makes a cautious shift to growth and prepares for forecast booming demand for copper and metals used in electric vehicle batteries, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

• Budgets jumped about 19 %
• Value of exploration for cobalt and lithium, used in rechargeable batteries for EVs, jumped 82 % in 2018, though spending remains a fraction of the amount deployed on gold or base metals.

• Number of companies and entities working on projects in 2018 rebounded to about 1,651 -- the first rise in active exploration companies in six years. Even so, the number is about a third less than in 2012. 
• Equity market funding for explorers also remains constrained.

See the whole story on Bloomberg here: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-14/miners-spending-on-hunt-for-copper-ev-metals-hits-10-billion

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