Imperial Metals spent $32.6 million - about 10 per cent of all mineral exploration spending in 2010 - on its Red Chris, Mount Polley, Ruddock Creek and Catface properties.
The majority of its exploration funding, $17.2 million, was spent on Red Chris in Northern British Columbia.
Mount Polley and Ruddock Creek are south of Prince George, while Catface is on Vancouver Island.
"We are proud to be a B.C.-based company, and are proud the majority of our exploration work is in this province," said Imperial president Brian Kynoch. "We are convinced B.C. is a place where we can find and build world class mines," he said.
Imperial Metal's has two operating mines in British Columbia: the Mount Polley gold and copper mine near Williams Lake, and the Huckleberry gold and copper mine near Houston, west of Prince George.
Annual mineral exploration in British Columbia more than doubled in 2010 over the previous year, and nearly three quarters of the spending took place in Northern B.C.
Spending reached $322 million in 2010, well up from that of $154 million in 2009, when the sector was suffering from a global recession.
The bulk of the spending, $172 million, took place in northwestern British Columbia. Another $37 million was spent in north-central B.C.'s Omineca region, while $20 million was spent in the northeast.
The $322 million in spending is the third highest level of investment - behind $416 million in 2007 and $367 million in 2008 - but well above a low of $29 million in 2001.
