Australia's Identified Mineral Resources 2023 Australia’s Identified Mineral Resources

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Australia’s Identified Mineral Resources

The National Classification System for Identified Mineral Resources has been used by the Australian Government since 1975 for classifying mineral resources for regional and national assessments. It provides a long-term viewon what is likely to be available for mining.

The National Classification System uses two general criteria for classifying Australia's national inventory of mineral resources:

  1. the geological certainty of the existence of themineral resource.
  2. the economic feasibility of its extraction over the long term.

The National Classification System (See Appendix 2) uses reports on mineral resources published by companies using the JORC Code (or equivalent foreign codes) and, to a lesser extent, confidential information, to compile national totals for the resource classification categories set out in Table 3. Both the National Classification System and the JORC Code are based on the McKelvey resource classification system used by the USGS. Thus Australia's national system is compatible with the JORC Code and remains comparable to the USGS system, as published in the annual USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries.

Economic Demonstrated Resources (EDR) is the category used for the national totals of economic resources and provides a basis for meaningful comparisons of Australia's economic resources with those of other nations. Section 7 provides a snapshot of key facts and figures for the 36 mineral commodities covered in AIMR 2023, including EDR, Ore Reserves, production, trends and world rankings.

Estimating the total amount of each mineral commodity likely to be available for mining over the long term (EDR) is not a precise science. The long-term perspectives presented herein take account of the following:

  • Ore Reserves reported in accordance with the JORC Code (or equivalent foreign codes) will all be mined, but they only provide a short-term view on what is likely to be available for mining.
  • Most current Measured and Indicated Resources reported in accordance with the JORC Code are also likely to be mined.
  • Some current Inferred Resources will be transferred to Measured and Indicated Resources and Ore Reserves.
  • New discoveries will add to the resource inventory.

In addition, some resources that, all being equal, would normally be considered EDR are not accessible because of environmental, legal or military land-use restrictions. Thus Table 3 also lists Accessible Economic Demonstrated Resources (AEDR). Of the 36 mineral commodities assessed in this publication, only black coal, brown coal, gold, mineral sands, platinum group elements and uranium have EDR that is considered inaccessible.

Over time, all of Australia's current EDR of gold, silver, tin, zinc or any number of other commodities will be mined. At first glance, this statement might seem somewhat paradoxical because not every deposit that contributes to the national EDR will have all of that individual EDR brought into production. Indeed, some deposits currently contributing to EDR will never produce any metal. However, the National Classification System is not designed to be used for individual mine assessments. Instead, it is a way of estimating regional and national totals. So, from an aggregated point of view, it is a reasonable proposition that, eventually, all of the current EDR (and more) will be mined. Twenty years ago, gold, for example, had an EDR of 5,415 t; since 2002, Australian mines have produced 5,747 t of gold.

Australia is yet to run out of EDR because, to use JORC Code terminology, as individual Ore Reserves are depleted, Measured and Indicated Resources are reassessed into Proved and Probable categories, Inferred Resources are worked on to bring them to Measured and Indicated status, and new drilling at existing mines as well as new greenfield discoveries add to the resource inventory. In addition, extractive technologies improve over time and if a commodity becomes rare then the laws of supply and demand result in previously subeconomic deposits becoming profitable. Thus EDR fundamentally differs from Ore Reserves under the JORC Code because it is not meant to provide a picture of what is currently commercial to mine but rather an outlook on what is likely to be available for mining over the long term, i.e., of opportunity for supply at regional and national scales.

Table 3. Australia's Identified Mineral Resources as at December 2022.

CommodityUnitAustraliaWorld
Demonstrated Resources Inferred Resources2 Accessible EDR3 Mine Production4 Economic Resources5 Mine Production6
Economic (EDR)1Subeconomic
ParamarginalSubmarginal
Antimony kt Sb 139.4 8.0 0 50.5 139.4 2.37 1,800 110
Bauxite Mt 3,521 60 1,429 2,940 3,521 102.3 30,000 380
Black Coal
In situ Mt 85,990 2,466 4,638 99,800     
Recoverable Mt 72,875 1,902 3,362 78,025 72,208 5208 756,2009 6,67910
Brown Coal
In situ Mt 81,234 45,696 239,225 122,509     
Recoverable Mt 74,039 42,082 215,303 105,228 72,453 39.111 320,46212 96613
Chromium kt Cr 0 3,898 0 1,121 0 0 560,00014 41,00014
Cobalt kt Co 1,742 242 5 1,110 1,742 5.815 8,480 185
Copper Mt Cu 101.50 1.48 0.24 46.86 101.50 0.82 890 22.0
Diamond Mc 1.28 0 0 20.30 1.28 0 1,29116 46
Fluorine kt F 343 721 6 2,543 343 0 126,000 4,00017
Gold t Au 12,159 149 35 6,337 12,132 306 55,000 3,100
Graphite Mt 8.5 0 0 7.2 8.5 0 332 1.3
HPA Ore18 Mt 16.7 0 0 37.8 16.7 0 n.a. n.a.
Iron
Iron ore Mt 58,286 5,469 1,280 92,135 58,286 945 190,000 2,700
Contained iron Mt Fe 27,190 1,766 426 42,366 27,190 584 86,000 1,600
Lead Mt Pb 34.81 1.31 0.14 23.90 34.81 0.44 82.86 4.5
Lithium kt Li 7,046 0 <1 1,910 7,046 7519 27,000 143
Magnesite Mt MgCO3 284 75 35 977 284 0.520 6,800 2521
Manganese Ore Mt 496 3 190 448 496 4.522  1,71623 18.723
Mineral Sands
Ilmenite Mt 303.3 16.3 10.9 264.2 293.4 0.724 1,107 14.9
Rutile Mt 39.0 0.1 3.1 37.1 36.4 0.224 56 0.6
Zircon Mt 88.3 0.3 4.7 65.7 84.6 0.524 115 2.2
Molybdenum kt Mo 687 366 <1 1,207 687 0.27725 12,200 250
Nickel Mt Ni 24.1 2.2 <1 18.5 24.1 0.16 104 3.3
Niobium kt Nb 216 15 0 397 216 n.a.26 >17,000 79
PGE t metal 359.3 60.0 0 461.8 356.7 0.49227 71,269 40028
Phosphate
Phosphate rock29 Mt 1,080 498 0 2,364 1,080 >0.430 72,000 220
Contained P2O5 Mt P2O5 178 91 0 388 178 n.a. n.a. n.a.
Potash
In situ Mt K2O 47.3 305.9 0 1,006.4 47.3 n.a 250,000 n.a.
Recoverable Mt K2O 47.3 1.6 0 149.6 47.3 <0.0131 >3,300 40
Rare Earths32 Mt oxide 5.70 4.65 33.11 22.94 5.70 0.01633 127 0.30
Scandium kt Sc 36.65 0.75 0 14.60 36.65 0 n.a. n.a.
Silver kt Ag 93.65 1.68 0.48 44.98 93.65 1.17 544 25.0
Tantalum kt Ta 110.0 1.4 0.2 39.9 110.0 0.134 n.a. 2
Thorium kt Th 0 0 795 641 0 0 n.a. n.a.
Tin kt Sn 623 61 32 353 623 9.0 4,900 300
Tungsten kt W 568 0 5 210 568 0.2335 3,800 84
Uranium kt U 1,236 52 29 618 1,233 4.55536 381537 48.938
Vanadium kt V 8,510 121 2,594 18,310 8,510 0 26,700 100
Zinc Mt Zn 64.30 0.43 0.75 46.27 64.30 1.24 206 13

Abbreviations
t = tonne; kt = kilotonnes (1,000 t); Mt = million tonnes (1,000,000 t); Mc = million carats (1,000,000 carats); n.a. = not available; HPA = High Purity Alumina; PGE = platinum group elements (Pt, Pd, Os, Ir, Ru, Rh).
Where an element symbol follows the unit it refers to contained metal content.

Notes

  1. Economic Demonstrated Resources (EDR) predominantly comprise Ore Reserves and most Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources that have been reported in accordance with the Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) Code to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). In addition, some reserves and resources have been reported using other reporting codes to foreign stock exchanges and Geoscience Australia may hold confidential data for some commodities.
  2. Total Inferred Resources in economic, subeconomic and undifferentiated categories.
  3. Accessible Economic Demonstrated Resources (AEDR) is the portion of total EDR that is accessible for mining. AEDR does not include resources that are inaccessible for mining because of environmental restrictions, government policies or military lands.
  4. Mining production from Office of the Chief Economist, Department of Industry, Science and Resources (Resources and Energy Quarterly, September 2023), unless otherwise stated. Production data often have a higher level of certainty than reserve and resource estimates and, thus, may be presented with more significant figures.
  5. World economic resources from the United States Geological Survey (Mineral Commodity Summaries 2023) and adjusted with Geoscience Australia data, unless otherwise stated.
  6. World mine production from the United States Geological Survey (Mineral Commodity Summaries 2023) and adjusted with Geoscience Australia data, unless otherwise stated.
  7. Australian antimony production from company reports (Mandalay Resources Ltd).
  8. Australian black coal production refers to raw coal.
  9. World economic resources of black coal (data for 2020) from the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources, Germany (Energy Study 2021, issued August 2022).
  10. World mine production of black coal (data for 2020) from the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources, Germany (Energy Study 2021, issued August 2022).
  11. Australian production of brown coal is sourced from the Victorian State Government, Earth Resources Regulation, Annual Statistical Report FY 2021-22.
  12. World economic resources of brown coal (data for 2020) from the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources, Germany (Energy Study 2021, issued August 2022).
  13. World mine production of brown coal (data for 2020) from the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources, Germany (Energy Study 2021, issued August 2022).
  14. World economic resources and mine production are presented as chromite ore.
  15. Cobalt production data from Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, Western Australian Government (2022 Major Commodities Resource Data File) and company reports (Mallee Resources Ltd).
  16. World resource figures are for industrial diamonds only, no data provided for resources of gem diamonds.
  17. World mine production of fluorine excludes the USA.
  18. Australia's high purity alumina ore is primarly kaolin, but other ore types are also possible.
  19. Lithium production data from Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, Western Australian Government (2022 Major Commodities Resource Data File), production of lithium estimated assuming 6% Li2O in spodumene concentrates. Core Lithium Ltd reported production from Finniss in the Northern Territory of 15,000 dry metric tonnes of 1.4% Li2O direct shipping ore.
  20. Australian magnesite production from South Australia Department for Energy and Mining (Report Book 2023/00034), confidential data from the Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines, and assumed minor production from New South Wales.
  21. World mine production excludes the USA.
  22. Australian manganese production from Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, Western Australian Government (2022 Major Commodities Resource Data File) and company reports (South 32 Ltd).
  23. World economic resources and mine production of manganese are published by the United States Geological Survey as manganese content, not manganese ore.
  24. Australian mineral sands production data based on estimates from New South Wales Government Department of Regional NSW (pers. comm.), Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety Western Australian Government (2022 Major Commodities Resource Data File), South Australia Department for Energy and Mining (Report Book 2023/00034) and Northern Territory Department of Industry Tourism and Trade (2022 Northern Territory Mining Production).
  25. Australian molybdenum production for 2021-22 from company reports (Newcrest Mining Ltd).
  26. There are no mines producing niobium as a primary product in Australia but it is likely produced in concentrate or as a by-product at some lithium/tantalum operations, but these data have not been reported.
  27. Australian platinum and palladium production data from Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, Western Australian Government (2022 Major Commodities Resource Data File).
  28. World mine production is platinum and palladium only.
  29. Phosphate rock is reported as being economic at grades ranging from 8.7% to 30.2% P2O5.
  30. Phosphate production based on company correspondence (413,763 t from Christmas Island; Phosphate Resources Ltd), 663 t recorded by the South Australia Department for Energy and Mining (Report Book 2023/00034) and confidential data from the Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines.
  31. Australian potash production (2,696 tonnes) from company reports (Kalium Lakes Ltd).
  32. Rare earths comprise rare earth oxides (REO) and yttrium oxide (Y2O3).
  33. Rare earths production is based on Western Australian production of concentrates from Mount Weld (15,616 t) and estimated from heavy mineral concentrate produced at Coburn, assuming 10% of concentrate is monazite and 60% of monazite is REO (600 t).
  34. Australian tantalum production data from Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, Western Australian Government (2022 Major Commodities Resource Data File). Production represents a maximum as no correction has been made for actual tantalite concentration in reported concentrates.
  35. Tungsten production is Geoscience Australia estimate based on company correspondence (Tasmania Mines Pty Ltd) and company reports (EQ Resources Ltd).
  36. Australian uranium production from company reports (BHP Ltd and Heathgate Resources Pty Ltd).
  37. World economic resources from the International Atomic Energy Agency/Nuclear Energy Agency (Uranium 2022: Resources, Production and Demand). Uranium EDR based on Reasonably Assured Resources recoverable at costs of less than US$130/kg.
  38. World production of uranium in 2022 from World Nuclear Organisation (Uranium Production, Figures, 2013-2022, May 2023 update).

Geographical distribution of EDR

Most bauxite EDR are attributable to Queensland and Western Australia (Figure 2) where the giant deposits in Cape York and the Darling Range, respectively, dominate. Similarly, Australia's enormous iron ore EDR are geographically concentrated in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Western Australia also hosts the majority of the nation's lithium and nickel EDR (Figure 2). Manganese ore EDR are concentrated in Western Australia and the Northern Territory, and vanadium EDR are located in Western Australia and in Queensland's black shale deposits (Figure 2).

On the other side of the country, almost all black coal EDR are located in Queensland and New South Wales (Figure 2). Substantial graphite EDR are located in South Australia with the remainder in Western Australia and Queensland (Figure 2). Cobalt EDR occurs in most Australian jurisdictions as it is associated with both nickel deposits and with many copper deposits. Copper, along with gold, lead, mineral sands, molybdenum, rare earths, silver, tungsten, uranium and zinc are dispersed across the country (Figure 2).

Due to the limited audience of this diagram and its complexity, no alternative description has been provided. Please email clientservices@ga.gov.au

Figure 2. Distribution of EDR of major commodities by Australian jurisdiction as at December 2022. Where applicable, the number of mines in each jurisdiction is in brackets after the percentage of EDR.