Mining companies are ramping up gold exploration in Latin America as areas before seen as risky, like southern Mexico and Colombia, are now glittering with new projects as precious metals prices soar. Exploration budgets, the first thing mining companies slashed during the financial crisis, plummeted 42% from 2008 to 2009, the largest one-year decline in two decades, according to consultancy Metals Economics Group (MEG). But the rebound has been quick in mining-friendly countries like Mexico, Chile, Peru and Argentina. The region won 26% of global exploration investment last year, the largest slice since 2001, MEG said in a report.
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