Australia's Identified Mineral Resources 2025 Introduction

Australia’s expansive and unique landscapes and ancient terranes are among the richest in the world. Traditional cultural knowledge, gained over millennia of custodianship, informs and guides world-class environmental, social and governance frameworks as we continue to discover, extract and process resources responsibly for future generations.

In 2024, Australia’s world rankings increased for resources of key critical minerals and strategic materials¹: ilmenite (a primary source of titanium) moved from second place to first in the world, bauxite (the primary source of aluminium), copper and tin moved from third to second, rare earth elements moved from sixth to third, and graphite moved from eighth to fifth place.

At the same time, commodity prices were broadly weaker owing to ongoing geopolitical tensions and modest world economic growth². Bulk export prices fell as the Chinese construction sector slowed, base metal prices fared better overall supported by rallying aluminium and copper, while the gold price rose to new highs as investors sought safe havens³. Coal, iron ore and lithium prices moderated, and the overall value of Australia’s mineral commodity exports declined by 10%, from $343,038 million in 2023 to $307,862 million in 2024⁴. Despite this, export earnings from refined lithium (up 480% on 2023) and silver (up 173%) rose due to significantly larger export volumes⁵.

Also in 2024, China tightened export controls on critical minerals, including rare earths, antimony, gallium and germanium. Incoming US President Trump pledged tariffs on all products from Mexico and Canada, and an extra 10% on China. In April 2025, this was expanded to a minimum 10% baseline tariff on all countries with Australian steel and aluminium imports, and some copper and copper products, to the United States subject to a 50% tariff⁶. On 21 October 2025, Australia and the United States reaffirmed their long-standing strategic partnership with the signing of the landmark US–Australia Framework for Securing of Supply in the Mining and Processing of Critical Minerals and Rare Earths agreement⁷ to fortify global supply chains for critical minerals.

Unlocking our vast resources of critical minerals, including rare earth elements, will fuel sustainable mining and deliver secure and resilient supply chains from extraction through to recycling. Australia’s mineral resources are the raw materials for building innovative technology, green and reliable energy systems and the nation’s defence capabilities. Australia is a global hub of vital mining expertise, linking world supply chains to power modern manufacturing and creating immense value. In 2024, the Australian mining industry directly employed 300,000 people and was responsible for 11% of the nation’s gross domestic product⁸.

Recognising this vast potential and the strategic importance of these resources, the Australian Government has invested in the 35-year Resourcing Australia’s Prosperity initiative⁹, an ambitious plan to map Australia’s critical minerals potential. Discovering and developing critical mineral projects will strengthen our economic security, create high-value jobs and support global efforts toward a cleaner, more resilient future. Australia’s critical minerals inventory underpins the nation’s sovereign capability, national defence and energy security, as well as that of our strategic partners.

Bolstered by precompetitive government geoscience, exploration drilling for mineral resources has trended upwards over the last 10 years from 5,940,000 m in 2015 to reach a high of 13,210,000 m in 2021¹⁰. The drilled number of metres has since moderated with comparative falls in 2022 (11,680,000 m), 2023 (10,820,000 m) and again in 2024 (9,590,000 m)¹¹.

In 2024, exploration spending for nickel and cobalt fell by 36% as increased nickel and by-product cobalt supply from Indonesia, and higher cobalt output from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, drove prices downwards. Exceptions to the overall decline in exploration spending were coal (up 2%), iron ore (up 11%) and uranium (up 30%). Uranium prices rose sharply in 2024 due to supply chain vulnerabilities, unprecedented demand for electricity to power data centres and ambitious net zero targets¹². While demand for nuclear energy rose, lower than expected production guidance from Kazakhstan and operational challenges following political unrest in Niger, impacted uranium supply to drive prices higher and stimulate exploration¹³.

Despite these conditions, the Australian resources sector focussed on high-impact exploration targets to deliver 45 maiden resources in 2024 and accomplished significant upgrades to existing minerals inventories, including for many critical minerals. Fluorine resources grew by 974% as additional resources were reported in Tasmania and Western Australia.

Fluorine is critical to the pharmaceutical sector, to the manufacture of plastics and semiconductors, and to uranium processing. Major growth was also recorded for graphite (up 109%), high-purity alumina (up 88%), scandium (up 26%), tin (up 24%), molybdenum (up 18%), rare earths (up 18%), manganese (up 17%), platinum group elements (up 13%), antimony (up 12%), bauxite (up 7%), and magnesite and niobium (both up 5%).

There was significant growth in Australian production of 8 critical minerals and strategic materials with especially noteworthy increases in materials needed to manufacture high-strength steels, alloys and electronics. Because some metals are sourced from few Australian mines, individual operations can significantly shift national output. Notably, tungsten production surged more than 92% as Tasmania’s Dolphin mine, which reopened in 2023 after a 30-year hiatus, reached nameplate capacity. In New South Wales, molybdenum by-production from the Cadia copper-gold mine increased 59%. During the year, Australian miners also increased production of tantalum (up 26%), lithium (up 14%), tin (up 14%), platinum group elements (up 12%), rutile (up 10%) and rare earth elements (up 7%).

In contrast, Australian production of some minerals fell during the year owing to lower commodity prices and extreme weather conditions. Australian nickel production fell for the second year in a row, down 34% in 2024, as oversupply from Indonesia depressed prices and curtailed investment. Production of manganese ore also fell by 34% when Tropical Cyclone Megan caused widespread damage and suspended operations at the Groote Eylandt manganese mine in the Northern Territory. Antimony production fell by 32% as the Costerfield mine in Victoria, Australia’s only antimony producer, reported lower production. Also in 2024, Australian potash production ceased with the closure of Beyondie in Western Australia.

While Australian lithium production increased by 14% in 2024 (and Australia remains the leading global producer), world production increased by 23%, reducing Australia’s percentage share of global production from 51% to 43%. In addition, Australia’s global ranking for bauxite production dropped from first place to second as national production modestly declined (down 3%) against increased global production (up 3%).

In 2024, Australia was a trusted top five global supplier of 14 mineral commodities, namely bauxite, black coal, cobalt, gold, ilmenite, iron ore, lead, lithium, manganese ore, rare earths, rutile, uranium, zinc and zircon. As previously noted, the year was marked by price volatility and an overall decline in the value of mineral exports. Exports of bulk commodities, iron ore ($127 billion) and coal ($85 billion), continued to earn the largest share of export income in 2024, while political and economic uncertainty saw export earnings from gold climb to $36 billion, up from $28 billion in 2023.