A look inside B.C.’s $552 million mineral exploration push

With the Association for Mineral Exploration’s Roundup 2026—one of the industry’s largest annual gatherings—coming up in Vancouver from January 26 through 29, we’re taking a look at the state of a rocking business.

Exploration spending on different minerals in B.C., 2023-24:

There are approximately 1,100 publicly listed mineral exploration companies in B.C.

The exploration sector employed 4,143 workers in 2024, up 10% from 2023 and backed by $552 million in spending on 283 projects. Of that total, $249 million was spent exploring for gold, $225 million for critical minerals, $38 million for metallurgical (steelmaking) coal and $30 million for silver.

Most of the critical minerals exploration in 2024— 62% in terms of dollars spent—and 70% of gold activity took place in the Northwest region, accessed out of Smithers and Terrace.

Mining and exploration together support 35,000 jobs in the province, with an average annual salary of $135,000. The industry accounted for 28% of the province’s exports in 2022 and had a total economic impact worth $18 billion.

Update on Jan 27: 
Premier David Eby just announced record $750.9 million in mineral exploration expenditures. This is positive news and adjusted for inflation this is the fourth highest since 1990; however, the combined share of grassroots and early-stage spending decreased from 32.1% to 26.8%.

Sources: AMEBC, Mining Association of BC, Province of B.C.