The Mineral Industry of Australia in 1999
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THE MINERAL INDUSTRY OF AUSTRALIA By Travis Q. Lyday Australia was estimated to be the third largest producer of that was passed along to the consumer as part of the retail minerals and metals, excluding coal and petroleum, in the price. In 1999, the Commonwealth Government passed new world, and its minerals industry was a leading catalyst in legislation for a goods and services tax (GST) of 10% to replace promoting the growth of the economy. The country’s 1999 the wholesale sales tax effective July 1, 2000. The GST will be gross domestic product (GDP) was $390 billion (Bureau of East levied at 10% of the value added at each point in the production Asian Affairs, October 2000, Australia—Background notes, and distribution chain for all goods and services including accessed November 2, 2000, at URL http://www.state.gov/ imports, with some exceptions (U.S. Department of State, July www/background_notes/australia_0010_b gn.html). The 1999, FY 2000 country commercial guide: Australia, p. 87, minerals industry, which included exploration, mining, and accessed November 1, 2000, at URL http://www.state.gov/ mineral processing, represented about 6.6% of the Australian www/about_state/business/com_guides/2000/eap/australia_ economy (Resource Information Unit, 2000, p. 4). The real CCG2000.pdf). growth rate of the GDP for 1999 was 3.9% (U.S. Energy Information Administration, April 2000, Australia, accessed Environmental Issues November 1, 2000, at URL http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/ australi.html). Although less than 0.02% of Australia’s land surface has In 1999, Australia was the world’s leading producer of been affected by mining activities, care and maintenance of the alumina, bauxite, chrysoprase, diamond, ilmenite, mined lead, environment was a prominent and recurrent concern of the monazite, opal, rutile, sapphire, mined zinc, and zircon; the Commonwealth and state governments. Mining companies second largest producer of uranium; the third largest producer must provide a program for care and management of the of gold, iron ore, and nickel ore; the fourth largest producer of environment, which includes subsequent rehabilitation, prior to copper and silver; and the fifth largest producer of aluminum being granted permission to mine (Journal of Mines, Metals, and coal. Australia was the premier exporter of alumina, coal, and Fuels, 1997). ilmenite, iron ore, refined lead, rutile, and zircon. The In energy commodities, coal, natural gas, and petroleum were country’s mineral wealth was so extraordinary that it was a major source of export earnings in Australia, and virtually self-sufficient in most mineral commodities. The only development of these resources in a sustainable manner was a significant mineral resource in which Australia was not self- primary policy goal of the country’s leadership. The sufficient was petroleum. Australia nevertheless produced 80% Government also realizes what the cost-effectiveness of to 85% of its annual crude oil requirements. The country also reducing the environmental impacts of the energy sector and was endowed with abundant resources of other mineral fuels, improving end-use efficiency in the various economic sectors which included coal, natural gas, and uranium, and continued remains a key element in Australia’s sustainable energy policy, to be one of the few market economy countries that was a net as does the use of renewable energy sources (U.S. Energy exporter of mineral fuels in 1999. Information Administration, April 2000, Australia, accessed Expenditures for mineral exploration programs continued to November 1, 2000, at URL http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/ decline in 1999, the last quarter of which represented the 10th cabs/australi.html). consecutive quarterly decline, with only about $112.2 million spent for mineral exploration. This was the lowest expenditure Production since the second quarter of 1993. Total exploration spending in 1999 was $481.1 million. This was down a formidable 23% Of the approximate $26.4 billion in mineral and energy from that of 1998 (Resource Information Unit, 2000, p. 18). By production in 1999, metallic minerals contributed an estimated yearend 1999, 172 of the 250 recognized mineral exploration 40%; petroleum and natural gas, 30%; coal and peat, 25%; and companies operating in mid-1998 had closed down (Mining industrial minerals, 5%. Australian mine production statistics Annual Review, 2000). for various commodities from 1995 through 1999 are presented in table 1. Government Policies and Programs In 1999, mining, refining, and smelting produced more than 48,400, 14,500, and 1,700 metric tons (t) of bauxite, alumina, Australia has not had a retail sales tax, although the and primary aluminum, respectively. Australia’s mine Commonwealth [Federal] Government has, instead, levied a production of contained copper in 1999 was 735,000 t, with the wholesale tax at either the manufacturer or wholesaler level 21% increase compared with that of 1998 mainly attributable to THE MINERAL INDUSTRY OF AUSTRALIA—1999 2.1 the rise in production from WMC Ltd.’s Olympic Dam Mine at electrofused magnesia for use in manufacturing high-quality Roxby Downs Station, 80 kilometers (km) north of Woomera, refractory bricks for lining heat-containment vessels in the South Australia. Gold production in 1999 decreased by slightly cement, chemical, nonferrous metals, and steel industries. less than 3% to 301 t. Western Australia remained the Australia’s commercial resources of phosphate were at dominant producer with about 71% (213 t) of Australia’s Phosphate Hill, which is 150 km south of Mount Isa, output, which was the same percentage as that of 1998, Queensland. The phosphate rock was first mined in late 1999 although total production was about 9% lower. Iron ore to produce diammonium phosphate fertilizer. About 5,000 t of production was 154.3 million metric tons (Mt) in 1999 phosphate rock was mined from small deposits in South compared with 155.7 Mt in 1998. Of total production, 96.0% Australia in 1999, but owing to its high aluminum and iron was from Western Australia’s Pilbara region. Australian content, it was suitable only as a direct-application fertilizer or production of manganese ore, predominantly from Groote for making organic fertilizer for horticultural applications Eylandt in the Northern Territory, was about 1.9 Mt, with a (Australian Geological Survey Organization, 2000a, p. 15, 22- manganese content of about 47.4%. Australia produced about 24, 29-30). 2.0 Mt of ilmenite, 190,000 t of rutile, and 375,000 t of In 1999, Australia produced 294 Mt of raw black coal, which zirconium concentrates from its mineral sands mining was a 3% increase compared with that of 1998, and yielded 231 operations. In 1999, Western Australia produced all Mt of salable coal compared with 225 Mt in 1998. More than Australia’s mined nickel, 126,000 t contained in about 700,000 70% of the country’s black coal production was from open cut t of nickel concentrates. Sons of Gwalia Ltd., which was the mines, predominantly in Queensland and New South Wales. world’s largest producer of tantalum in the form of tantalum Brown coal production also increased by about 3% in 1999 concentrates and controlled the world’s largest stock of compared with that of 1998; the La Trobe Valley in South tantalum resources, produced 336 t of tantalum oxide (Ta 2O 5) Australia produced about 98.5% of the total (Australian from its Greenbushes operation and a further 85 t from its Geological Survey Organization, 2000a, p. 12-13). Production Wodgina Mine, both in Western Australia. In 1999, of crude petroleum in 1999 increased to 621,000 barrels per day Production of uranium oxide (U 3O8 ) reached a record-high (bbl/d) from 619,000 bbl/d in 1998 (Energy Information 7,055 t, which was 5,983 t of uranium at 0.848 t of uranium per Administration, April 2000, Australia, accessed November 1, metric ton of U3O8. All uranium oxide production was from 2000, at URL http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/australi.html). from the Ranger Mine in the Alligator Rivers region of the Northern Territory and the Olympic Dam Mine in South Trade Australia. In 1999, mine production of lead, silver, and zinc was 68,000 t, 1,700 t, and 1.16 Mt, respectively. Production To bolster economic growth, Australia continued to rely was mainly from mines at Cannington, Century, George Fisher, heavily on the export of the majority of its mineral production. Hilton, and Mount Isa in Queensland; McArthur River in the Most of the mineral export value, however, was concentrated in Northern Territory; Broken Hill and Elura in New South just four commodity groups, coal, gold, iron ore, and alumina- Wales; Hellyer and Rosebery in Tasmania; and the Gossan Hill, aluminum-bauxite in descending order. The mineral industry Lennard Shelf, and Scuddles deposits in Western Australia. remained Australia’s largest commodity export earner, Australia’s gold mines also continued to be a significant accounting for an estimated 60% of the total. An estimated contributor of silver to total production (Australian Geological 80% of Australia’s mineral production was exported. Australia Survey Organization, 2000a, p. 10, 14, 17, 20-21, 25, 28, 31, remained the premier exporter of alumina, bauxite, coal, 33, 39). diamond (gem, near gem, and natural industrial), ilmenite, iron Production of diamond in 1999 (gem, near gem, and ore, refined lead, rutile, and zircon. industrial) was about 30.8 million carats, which was a decrease of 10 million carats compared with that of 1998. The decrease