10MA Y 200801194359 12MA Y 200801231392 production can commence. As a result, a greater volume of drilling is required to locate the mineral deposits and to ascertain whether they can be economically mined. The charts below illustrate the decline in significant new gold and copper deposits despite an increase in exploration expenditures. Gold Discoveries from 1991 to 2007 0 1 2 8 5 3 3 8 7 10 6 1 2 2 2 3 2 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Millions of Ounces Primaril y Gold Onl y Copper Gold P o r p h y r y # - Disco v eries In The Y e ar Source: Company reports, MEG and CIBC W orld Markets Inc. Exploration Expenditures and Copper Discoveries from 1995 to 2006 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1995 1 996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Co pper D i sco v er ie s $0 $500 $1,000 $1,500 $2,000 $2,500 Baes Metals Exploration Expenditures (US$mln) Source: MEG. Access to Capital Given the rise in commodity prices and increased investor interest in the sector, mining companies, across all stages of development, have had greater access to public and private equity capital in recent years. As demonstrated in the following chart, global equity financing for mining companies increased from US$2.9 billion in 1999 to a record US$50.3 billion in 2007. 25