Explorer Quarterly Cash Update: December 2021

BDO’s research into the financial health of Australian-listed resource explorers listed for the quarter ended 31 December 2021 shows record IPO activity, capital raisings, and investment spending.

The report highlights the flurry of activity over the last quarter of 2021 and that exploration companies increasingly need to integrate ESG throughout their operations. 

A key observation from the December 2021 quarter was the stark 263% increase in net investing cash outflows, reflecting the growth in investment expenditure that we had anticipated in last quarter’s issue. Larger investment spends were observed to be undertaken by lithium exploration and development companies primarily in relation to the acquisition of new exploration assets, infrastructure and plant and equipment.

Significantly, the report showed total resource exploration hit an eight-year high of A$973 million for the Q4 2021! Sheirf Andrawes, BDO Global Head of Natural Resources, noted that “exploration has yet again seen record-breaking level of funds flowing, with inflows totaling a record $3.75 billion in Q4 2021. This was up from the previous record of $2.55 billion pocketed in Q3 2021.”

BDO expects that the growth in exploration activity will continue in light of strong cash positions and the higher number of listed exploration companies, but note that this growth may continue to be constrained by the availability of resources, travel restrictions and a shortage of skilled labour.

Download the Q4 2021 Explorer Quarterly Cash Update