Comments from Kevin Yates on the outlook of gold exploration and the increasing cost of discovery.   See paragraph 7 for his comments on where industry is targeting its activities.  Surprise surprise ... Latin Americia.

Source: http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page34?oid=39876&sn=Detail

Posted Nov 16, 2007

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NEWGENGOLD CONFERENCE

Australia's gold search spend rises but production still on the slide
Keith Yates, the man behind the big biennial New Generation Gold Conference, sees the 39% rise in gold exploration spending in Australia as being critical for arresting the country’s slide from prominence as a gold producer.

Author: Ross Louthean
Posted:  Friday , 16 Nov 2007

PERTH - 

The seventh biennial New Generation Gold Conference told delegates in Perth that while the gold price has been rising and prompting a global rise in exploration expenditure to over $US4 billion per annum since 2003, the flow of discoveries - particularly grass roots finds - has been disappointing.

Veteran geologist Keith Yates of Yates & Associates said that Australia has been part of this disappointing pattern, and the last 1.5 million oz discovery in the country was LionOre International's Thunderbox in Western Australia in 1999.

He hoped that the big Tropicana project, which stretches for more than 100 kilometres in the eastern goldfields of WA, and given as a case history at the conference yesterday, could be Australia's "drought breaker." It is a joint venture between AngloGold Ashanti Ltd and Australian miner Independence Group Ltd (ASX: IGO).

While the dollar spend has risen rapidly in the past year Australia's status in gold search funding was now 11% of world spending, down from 14.3% in 2005.

In terms of big discoveries, Yates said that Latin America is now the preferred package, followed by Canada and Africa.

Major Latin America gold discoveries presented at the conference, which is tailored for geoscientists from around the world, were Aurelian Resources Inc (TSX: ARU) of Canada's Fruta Del Norte gold-silver project in south east Ecuador, Goldcorp Inc's Peñasquito in Mexico and Choco 10 in Venezuela, until recently owned by Gold Fields.

Yates said Australia's gold production in 2006/07 was 8,067,626 ounces while the country's exploration expenditure in that year was $A555.9 million ($US505.8 M) while the world gold exploration spending for the year was $US4.2 billion.

Two weeks ago Yates stepped down as foundation chief executive of Adelaide Resources Ltd but will remain on the board. He told Mineweb he would continue with the New Generation Gold Conference in partnership with Perth-based Paydirt Media.