Australia's production and exports of major and other selected mineral resources, concentrates and metals for calendar years 2006 and 2007 are presented in Table 8. The data published by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) on a quarterly basis.
ABARE reported that mineral production was higher in 2007 compared with 2006. There were significant production increases in rutile concentrates (up 35%), zircon concentrates (up 23%), manganese (up 16%), zinc ores and concentrates (up 16%), uranium (up 13%) and iron ore (up 9%). Diamond production declined significantly by 34% in 2007.
Table 8. Australian production and exports of selected mineral commodities for 2006 and 2007.
Source: Australian Mineral Statistics, ABARE, March quarter 2008 & March quarter 2007.
t = tonnes; kt = 103t; Mt = 106t; Mc = 106 carats
- Includes primary and secondary gold of Australian and overseas origin
- Sum of products in the Intermediate nickel, <99% Ni and >99% Ni categories
- Sum of all nickel product export values
Commodity export volumes increased for the majority of commodities in 2007. Export volumes decreases were reported for diamonds, copper ore and concentrates, lead ore and concentrates, ilmenite concentrates and refined nickel in 2007. ABARE reported that Australia's export earnings from mineral resources (excluding petroleum and gas) rose to $90.5 billion in 2007, an increase of 5% compared with 2006.
High export volumes and US dollar prices for most commodities offset the strong Australian dollar resulting in modest rise in export earnings in 2007. The main minerals contributing to the higher export earning in 2007 were diamond, gold, iron ore and pellets, lead, manganese, rutile, uranium and zircon, due to higher prices received and higher export volumes. The largest decline in export earnings in 2007 was metallurgical coal as a result of decline in the US dollar contract prices. Export earnings also declined for the minerals thermal coal, copper ore and concentrates and alumina, mainly due to the stronger Australian dollar. ABARE forecasts that strong demand in China and other developing countries will continue to drive the growth in mineral markets. World production of mineral commodities has struggled to keep pace with consumption in the past few years. Production at existing mines and commissioning of new capacity has been affected by skills shortages, long lead times for equipment and rising costs.
To sustain such growth and contribution to national economic performance in the medium and longer terms depends on new resources being discovered and developed for production at rates sufficient to meet demand. To facilitate assessment of the future supply capability of identified resources, ratios of AEDR to current mine production are provided in the commodity reviews above, as an indicator of resource life. It is important to note that these 'duration indicators' can change rapidly with significant changes in rates of production and/or major changes to resources. Iron ore, for example, shows how resource life can change markedly over a relatively short period. Increased production in response to growing demand from Asia is a major factor contributing to a 50% reduction in the duration of iron ore resources from 125 years in 1995 to around 65 years in 2007. In addition, the 20% reduction in EDR over the period is due to implementation of the JORC Code by the iron ore industry.
Table 9 presents a comparison of the AEDR/production ratios as assessed over a 10 year period. The assessment provides an indication of the length of time that mining of AEDR could continue at rates of production for each year. There is a markedly lower AEDR/production ratio for coal and iron ore, which are the net result of major increases in production and reassessment of resources.
Resource life duration for gold (about 25 years at current rates of production), zinc and lead (around 30 and 35 years, respectively), and diamond (about 10 years) are relatively low. Increases in the price of gold have contributed to increased expenditure on exploration for this commodity since 1980. However, despite a progressive increase in EDR of gold since the mid-1980s, there is still a need for ongoing successful exploration in the short and medium terms to ensure sufficient available resources to maintain gold as one of Australia's main exports.
Table 9. Years of accessible economic demonstrated resources (AEDR) at the production level for the year (rounded to nearest 5 years).
There is a need for significant new discoveries of lead and zinc just to maintain production at current levels beyond the next 25 years, when almost all existing base metal mines will have closed. In this regard the focus is on discovery and development of new high quality lead-zinc deposits that are amenable to processing by conventional metallurgical methods.
