World Exploration Trends 2026: What the Latest Data Says About Budgets, Risk Appetite and the Project Pipeline

Global nonferrous mineral exploration spending totaled $12.40 billion in 2025, marking a third consecutive year of decline in nominal terms. While higher gold prices supported increased investment in precious metals exploration, reduced spending on battery metals and other commodities offset those gains. At the same time, capital allocation continued to shift toward minesite and near‑mine exploration, while grassroots exploration reached a historic low share of total budgets.

The findings, based on S&P Global Market Intelligence’s exploration budget dataset, highlight how companies are prioritizing near‑term resource security over early‑stage discovery amid persistent financing constraints and market uncertainty.

👉 Download the full World Exploration Trends 2026 report to access complete budget tables, regional breakdowns and methodology.

Global exploration budgets: Stabilization remains uneven 

According to the World Exploration Trends 2026 study, total global nonferrous exploration budgets declined by approximately 0.6% year over year to $12.40 billion in 2025. This follows a post‑pandemic peak of $13.10 billion in 2022 and reflects ongoing pressure on capital availability, particularly for junior and intermediate explorers.

While aggregate spending declined only modestly, the headline number masks significant divergence by commodity:

• Gold exploration budgets increased 11%, supported by sustained price strength and strong cash flows among major producers.
• Lithium and nickel exploration budgets declined sharply, reflecting lower prices, oversupply concerns and a pullback in risk appetite.
• Copper exploration spending continued to edge higher, supported by longer‑term demand expectations, though growth remained constrained by financing conditions.

This uneven performance underscores how exploration activity in 2025 was shaped less by broad market recovery and more by commodity‑specific fundamentals and balance‑sheet capacity.

Minesite exploration dominates as grassroots activity falls to a record low

One of the most persistent structural trends identified in the 2026 report is the continued shift away from early‑stage exploration.

In 2025:

• Minesite exploration accounted for 45% of global budgets, reaching a record high.
• Grassroots exploration fell to just 21% of total spending, the lowest share recorded in the CES dataset.
• Late‑stage exploration also declined, reflecting fewer projects advancing through the pipeline.

This allocation pattern reflects a broader industry preference for lower‑risk investments near existing operations, where infrastructure, permitting and geological certainty are already established. While this approach can help sustain near‑term production, the report notes that prolonged underinvestment in grassroots exploration may have implications for longer‑term project inventories. 

Regional performance: Capital flows follow commodity exposure

Exploration budget trends also varied significantly by region in 2025.

• Canada remained the world’s largest exploration destination, despite a year‑over‑year decline driven by reduced junior activity and project maturation.
• Australia recorded mixed results, with higher gold spending offset by steep declines in lithium and nickel exploration.
• Latin America retained the largest regional share of global exploration budgets, supported by gold and copper investment and the presence of major producers.
• Saudi Arabia and parts of Africa saw notable increases, reflecting government‑led initiatives and targeted investment strategies.

These regional shifts illustrate how exploration activity is increasingly influenced by policy frameworks, access to capital and exposure to resilient commodities, rather than purely geological potential.

Drilling and financing activity: Signs of recovery, but deployment remains selective

Despite lower overall exploration budgets, the report highlights improving capital market conditions in 2025:

• Funds raised by junior and intermediate companies more than doubled year over year to $21.43 billion.
• 56,015 drillholes were reported across 1,244 projects, marking a recovery from multi‑year lows.

However, the data shows that a substantial portion of new capital was directed toward project development rather than greenfield exploration, limiting the impact on early‑stage discovery activity. Drilling growth was strongest in gold and base metals, while specialty and battery metals lagged. 

Exploration data and analysis within Capital IQ Pro

S&P Global Market Intelligence’s Capital IQ Pro Metals & Mining solution consolidates the exploration datasets and research that support analysis such as the World Exploration Trends 2026 report. The platform integrates global exploration budgets, mineral discoveries, drilling activity, mine development, production data and transactions within a single analytical environment. Its coverage spans public and private mining companies, operating mines and mining properties, enabling consistent analysis of exploration activity by commodity, geography, development stage and company type.

In addition, Capital IQ Pro Metals & Mining brings together company financials, asset‑level data, mining cost curves, metal price projections, news and proprietary research, allowing exploration trends to be assessed alongside broader market, asset and cost dynamics. Visualization and screening tools support comparison across assets and regions, providing a standardized framework for monitoring changes in global exploration activity.

Why exploration strategy matters heading into 2026

The World Exploration Trends 2026 report does not present forecasts or investment recommendations. Instead, it documents how exploration strategies have evolved in response to market conditions, financing constraints and commodity price movements.

The data shows an industry balancing:

• Near‑term production needs,
• Capital discipline, and
• The long‑term requirement for new discoveries.

As the report notes, bringing a mineral discovery into production can take more than a decade, making sustained early‑stage exploration a critical input into future supply pipelines.

Frequently asked questions

• What was the global exploration budget in 2025?

Global nonferrous exploration budgets totaled $12.40 billion in 2025, representing a slight year‑over‑year decline and the third consecutive annual decrease.

• Which type of exploration received the most funding?

Minesite exploration received the largest share of funding, accounting for 45% of global budgets, as companies prioritized lower‑risk, near‑term resource expansion.

• Why did grassroots exploration decline?

Grassroots exploration declined due to tighter financing conditions for junior explorers and a strategic shift toward projects closer to production, where returns are perceived as more predictable.

Access the full report

This article highlights selected findings from the World Exploration Trends 2026 report. The full report includes:

• Complete exploration budget tables by commodity, country and project stage
• Historical time series and methodology
• Detailed regional and company‑type analysis

👉 Download the full World Exploration Trends 2026 report to explore the complete dataset and analysis.

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