INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS

The Australian continent is a resource rich land with a thriving Mining industry. Our miners have placed the nation amongst the world's leading producers of the most sought after minerals and contribute over half the total value of Australia's exports. Table 18.29 shows world production of most of the main commodities by the highest producing countries in 2009.

Australia ranks in the top six producing nations of fifteen important minerals (including lead, manganese, silver, tantalum and ilmenite which are not listed in table 18.29). Australia’s production of iron ore, bauxite, zircon and rutile rank first in the world, while production of gold, lead, manganese and ilmenite rank second. Zinc, nickel and uranium rank third, followed by coal and silver fourth, tantalum fifth and copper sixth.

Information on Australia’s international standing in economic demonstrated resources (EDR) of a number of minerals can be found in table 18.9.

	Crude oil(a)	Natural gas(b)	Hard coal(c)	Iron ore	Copper(d)	Zinc(e)	Nickel(f)	Zircon(g)	Rutile	Bauxite	Uranium	Gold
	'000 barrels daily	bill. cubic metres	Mt	Mt	kt	kt	kt	kt	kt	kt	t	t
China (excludes SARs and Taiwan)	3 790	85	2 845	234	962	3 092	79	130	–	37	750	300
United States of America	7 196	583	906	27	1 200	736	–	na	na	–	1 453	210
Russian Federation	10 032	528	229	91	742	214	262	5	–	3	3 564	185
India	754	–	520	257	–	695	–	31	21	22	290	–
Peru	145	4	–	–	1 275	1 509	–	–	–	–	–	180
Canada	3 212	164	28	33	495	692	137	–	–	–	10 173	100
Chile	–	–	–	–	5 390	28	–	–	–	–	–	40
Indonesia	1 021	72	263	–	970	–	203	63	–	–	–	100
South Africa	–	–	247	55	116	28	–	392	134	–	563	210
Saudi Arabia	9 713	79	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Iran	4 216	131	–	–	255	115	–	–	–	–	–	–
Mexico	2 979	55	–	–	238	494	–	–	–	–	–	55
United Arab Emirates	2 599	49	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Iraq	2 482	1	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Kuwait	2 481	11	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Brazil	2 029	12	–	303	–	173	38	18	3	28	345	50
Colombia	685	11	73	–	–	–	72	–	–	–	–	48
Ukraine	–	19	–	66	–	–	–	35	60	–	840	–
Kazakhstan	1 682	33	96	–	406	442	–	–	–	5	14 020	22
Norway	2 342	104	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Qatar	1 345	89	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Namibia	–	–	–	–	–	208	–	–	–	–	4 626	–
Niger	–	–		–	–	–	–	–	–	–	3 243	–
Philippines	–	–	–	–	49	–	119	–	–	–	–	37
Australia	559	48	335	394	950	1 267	166	476	280	63	7 982	220
World total	79 948	2 976	5 842	1 588	15 761	11 296	1 347	1 160	577	201	50 772	2 350
Australian % of world	0.7	1.6	5.7	24.8	6.0	11.2	12.3	41.0	48.5	31.3	15.7	9.4
na not available – indicates nil or very little production by world standards
(a) Includes crude oil, shale oil, oil sands and NGLs (liquid content of natural gas where recovered separately).
(b) Excludes gas flared or recycled.
(c) Includes anthracite and bitumous, and for the United States of America, sub–bitumous coal.
(d) Total metallic content of minerals produced.
(e) Recovered metal zinc content by analysis of zinc ores and concentrates, plus zinc content of other ores intended for recovery.
(f) Includes total metallic content of minerals produced.
(g) Zirconium mineral concentrates.
Source: Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, Australian Commodity Statistics; BP Statistical Review of World Energy; U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries; Index Mundi; World Nuclear Association.