SHAPING a NATION | a Geology of Australia Sustaining Australia’S Wealth— Economic Growth from a Stable Base
432 SHAPING A NATION | A Geology of Australia Sustaining Australia’s wealth— economic growth from a stable base Despite continuing global supercontinent cycles, the Precambrian core of the Australian continent has endured. Most of the continent is now remote from active plate boundaries, and this, together with its core strength, has ensured relative geological stability over the last 200 million years (Myr). Much of the continent is deeply weathered. The relative stability, however, has ensured that the vast mineral and energy resources of Australia have been preserved and, indeed, created. These resources include the bulk commodities of iron ore, bauxite, coal and natural gas, which now generate much of the wealth for the Australian people. The resources sector, to which these bulk commodities contribute the majority of the value, is worth over $206 billion per year to Australia in export earnings. Increasing demand from our Asian neighbours is driving further growth in the sector. Demand for Australia’s natural resources, coupled with sound financial management and governance, ensured that Australia largely avoided the ravages of the 2008 global financial crisis (GFC). Paul J Kay, Richard S Blewett and David L Huston Geoscience Australia Sustaining Australia’s wealth—economic growth from a stable base 433 Image by Eric Taylor 434 SHAPING A NATION | A Geology of Australia Resources from a stable base resources that require massive infrastructure and capital to develop. The Bureau of Resources and Australia is one of the most stable and strongest Energy Economics documented the key resources economies in the world. A major factor in this exports in 2011 as iron ore ($58.4 B), coal has been the unprecedented boom in demand ($47 B), gold ($14.6 B), LNG ($11.1 B) and for Australia’s high-quality bulk resources—in bauxite/aluminium products ($9.3 B), forming a particular, from the rapidly developing Asian pivotal (44%) share of the nation’s export trade.
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