By Cecilia Jamasmie
MINING.com
March-quarter exploration and production results from the resources sector flooded in last week to meet the end-of-April deadline, revealing that while the sector seems to be on its way up, funding remains an issue, especially for explorers.
In its latest report on the state of the market published Tuesday, SNL Metals&Mining reveals that the combination of investment banks falling out of love with commodities, and IPOs not serving the smaller companies, continues to burden mining companies big and small, particularly explorers. This, say the analysts, is reflected by the mere US$7 billion raised by the mining sector in the first quarter of the year, with only $1.6bn going to juniors.
Metals markets, says the report, remain dull, but stable. Copper, a main indicator of global economic health, is expected to remain lethargic for the remainder of the year, with most investors seeing better opportunities in other metals, particularly nickel and tin, SNL says.