4608.0 - Mineral Account, Australia, 1996  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 19/03/1998   
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MEDIA RELEASE

March 19, 1998
Embargoed: 11:30 AM (AEST)
29/1998

Australia's mineral and petroleum resources

Overall, Australia's mineral and petroleum resource base in the 12 years from 1985 to 1996 has grown due to increased exploration, according to results of the first physical account of Australian mineral and petroleum stocks released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Some highlights of the report include that there had been an increase of production or extraction of gold in the 12 years from 1985-1996 and the stock level had increased by successful exploration. The gold deposits found increased stocks of gold by 370 per cent over the 12 years.

Also, over the same period, Australia's oil and condensate resources had increased by 50 per cent, mainly due to successful exploration in Northern Western Australia. Most of this increase had been in condensate resources.

Mineral Account, Australia provides information for mineral and petroleum resources; it contains information on volume changes which are concerned with quantifying the changes in resource stocks which occur between one time period and another; and the flows of commodities from the natural environment through the production process to end-users.

Details are in Mineral Account, Australia (cat. no. 4608.0) available from ABS Bookshops.