For the past six years Grant Thornton Australia has undertaken a survey of the junior mining sector. This year the survey was based upon 108 responses. The sector comprises about 700 companies so the number of responses is statistically significant.

It comes as no surprise that the number one issue is the difficulty in raising capital. Consequently, 29% of respondents have less than $500,000 cash. This puts downward pressure on the share price, which in turn makes raising  capital even more difficult.

On the bright side, Australia is increasingly of interest as an exploration destination. This is because it has become cost competitive with other countries. There are no longer labour and equipment shortages, in fact quite the opposite. The weaker Australian dollar also helps. Today, over 70% of leading projects are located in Australia, followed by Africa with 11%. The most popular commodities in the sector are copper and gold, followed by zinc and nickel.

There is much more detail in the report, I highly recommend it. Read the report here – jumex-2015.

26 October 2015 Companies