India may get new gold supplier: Australia spends record ₹13,000 crore exploring deposits amid rising deman... - Bhaskar English

AI desk brief

Australia spent a record ₹13,000 crore on gold exploration, with Western Australia accounting for ₹10,625 crore, as higher gold prices and global uncertainty spur new deposit search. The piece argues that if exploration converts into new production, Australia could become a larger supplier to India, which imported about ₹1.61 lakh crore of gold in Q1 2026 and still sources 82% of demand via imports.

The article also highlights Australia’s importance to global supply, citing 314 tonnes of output in 2025, about 9.5% of global mine production, and says Australian ore grades are materially higher than India’s on the figures quoted. Near term this is more a supply-side watch item than an immediate market driver, since exploration does not equal production and mine development takes years.