The trend estimate for total mineral exploration expenditure fell 7.8%k to $A681 million over the three months to June, representing a 30% slide compared to the same time last year.

WA was the largest contributor to the fall over the quarter, with spending down 7/8% to $33.9 million.

In seasonally adjusted terms, exploration spending was 20.6% lower over the quarter to $630.2 million, with WA falling 26.2% as the biggest loser.

Iron ore was the hardest hit commodity, with spending dollars falling 17.7% in original terms over the three-month period.

Coal, meanwhile, experienced the largest rise in exploration expenditure, up 14.5%.

Total metres drilled fell by 6.3% over the quarter and by 32.8% compared to the same time last year.

In original terms, however, metres drilled rose 29.9% over the quarter with drilling in areas of new deposits up 65.9% and drilling in areas of existing deposits up 16.3%.

The Australia-focused figures follow on a report released last month by research group IntierraRMB that tracked a global slump in drilling reports of 29% over the June quarter.

The company’s State of the Market: Exploration Report found that cumulative drilling reports for the quarter amounted to 1053 prospects, compared with 1479 in the previous period, 1741 in the December quarter and 2072 in the three months to September.

South America was among the most negatively affected areas, having more than halved its gold exploration over the past year.

Copper and zinc exploration on the continent were also noted to have collapsed.