Currently there are in excess of 200 companies listed on the New Zealand Stock Exchange and the total market value of all the listed shares amounts to $4.6 billion._x000D_
The number of listed mining companies stands at nine and with a market value of $35 million accounts for less than one per cent of the total market capitalisation._x000D_
In comparison, the Australian mining and energy sectors account for nearly 50 per cent of the total market capitalisation, which currently exceeds A$41 billion._x000D_
Surprisingly the share markets in both countries were primarily founded on the discoveries of minerals last century.