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Highlights
- In Australia, mining accounted for about 10% of the total GDP as of June 2022.
- Australia is the largest lithium producer and among the top five producers of iron ore, gold, lead, nickel, and zinc, globally.
- Of the 350 mine sites operating countrywide, nearly one-third are in Western Australia, one-fourth in Queensland, and one-fifth in New South Wales – the three major states for mining.
Mining is one of the most well-established sectors of Australia and a major contributor to its economy. According to June 2022 report of Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources, mining accounted for nearly 10% of the total gross domestic product (GDP) in the country.
Following China, the United States, and Russia, Australia places as the fourth largest mining country. Globally, it is the largest lithium producer and among the top five producers of iron ore, gold, lead, nickel, and zinc. The country houses largest uranium reserves in the world and fourth largest resources of black coal.
Through Labor’s AU$1 billion Value-Adding in Resources Fund, the Australian government plans to achieve the following:
- enhance the country’s capability in mining science and technology
- create jobs, and
- ensure that a larger share of raw materials is processed in Australia itself.
In this article, we at Kalkine Media® will discuss some of the mining regions of Australia based on the top commodities.
Lithium
Australia has many hard-rock, pegmatite-hosted lithium resources, mostly in Western Australia. Most of the lithium resources of Australia (nearly 95% of Australia’s economic demonstrated resources) occur within the following deposits:
- Greenbushes Lithium Operations
- Mount Marion
- Earl Grey
- Pilgangoora
- Wodgina
Gold
Gold is not only used for making jewellery but is also generally viewed as a hedge against inflation or as money for exchange. Gold is used in manufacturing of electronics, cosmetics, and luxury apparels.
Iron
Iron ores are rocks used for economic extraction of metallic iron. The major iron ores contain hematite (Fe2O3) and magnetite (Fe3O4). About 96% of the iron ore exported from Australia is hematite of high grade, most of which is mined from the Hamersley province of Western Australia. As of 2018, magnetite deposits have largely occurred in Western Australia and Tasmania.
Lead
The first metal to be mined in Australia was lead. It was mined at Glen Osmond in South Australia. At present, lead is generally found as a coproduct in ores containing zinc, silver, and copper. Interestingly, more than 50% of the lead is derived from recycling, largely of old car batteries. Australia has lead mines in Broken Hill, Mt Isa, and Hilton in Queensland, and McArthur River in the Northern Territory. The country is in a leading position when comes to technological development in lead mining and processing.
Some ASX-listed companies involved in the exploration and/or production of the listed commodities:
Source: EODHD/Others, as of 21 October 20222
