1301.0 - Year Book Australia, 2003

ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 24/01/2003

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Research into exploration, mining, ore dressing and metallurgy is conducted by government bodies, universities, private enterprise, and by the combined efforts of all these. A summary of the main organisations and their functions follows.

Geoscience Australia

Geoscience Australia is the national geoscience research and spatial information agency. It assists government and the community to make appropriate and informed decisions about the use of resources, management of the environment, and the safety and wellbeing of Australians. Its main activities centre on the following:

geoscience for onshore activities, focusing on enhancing mineral exploration and environmental land-use planning through the production of geoscientific maps, databases and information systems, and conducting regional geological and mineral systems research

geoscience for offshore activities, focusing on identifying potential hydrocarbon areas and new prospective basins in Australia's offshore territories, mapping the outer limits of Australia's jurisdiction under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and undertaking studies of the marine environment and estuarine health studies

spatial information activities, focusing on the provision of fundamental spatial data of Australia from national mapping, remote sensing and geodesy. The activity also includes the maintenance of fundamental gravity and seismic networks and the coordination of the implementation of the Commonwealth Policy on Spatial Data and Access and Pricing.

AMIRA International Limited

AMIRA is a not-for-profit private sector company, established in 1959 to facilitate the technological advancement of its members in the mineral, coal, petroleum and associated industries. It has membership and support of more than 90 companies in Australia and internationally.

AMIRA brokers and manages jointly funded research projects on a fee for service basis. Project sponsors are required to be AMIRA members. Typically, at any one time there are 70 projects under management valued at $40m.

The primary benefit delivered by AMIRA is the output from project sponsorship.

Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE)

ABARE is a professionally independent agency devoted to applied economic research. For over 50 years ABARE has worked with industry and government to provide stakeholders in Australia's rural and resource industries with up-to-date public policy analysis and commodity forecasts. ABARE's research seeks to clearly and independently identify the benefits and costs of alternative policy options for consideration by government and private decision makers.

ABARE services include:

deriving supply and demand projections

assessing the outlook for commodity prices

examining patterns of national and world production and consumption

analysing the impact of economic policies

developing analytical computer programs and economic policies

undertaking regional and environmental economic assessments

providing economic assessments of factors affecting the competitiveness of the resources sector.

ABARE undertakes economic research on issues affecting the full range of major minerals, energy, agricultural and natural resources industries, as well as on climate change, and on macroeconomic, microeconomic and trade issues relating to these industries.