PRODUCTION AND TRADE OF MINERALS

Mineral production

Tables 18.15 and 18.16 show the quantity and value of selected minerals (including oil and gas) produced in Australia.

In the period 2000-01 to 2004-05 the most significant increases in production were for manganese ore (81%), leucoxene (77%) and iron ore and concentrates (42%). The steady increase in iron ore and concentrate production over this period was driven by increased production in Western Australia, which accounts for 98% of Australian production. There was also a steady increase in saleable black coal, liquefied natural gas and salt.

Production of gold, ilmenite, rutile, zinc, crude oil, lead, natural gas and diamond decreased between 2000-01 and 2004-05 with the largest falls recorded for crude oil (37%), ilmenite (27%) and rutile (23%). Diamond production changed significantly during the period with an increase of 51% in 2002-03 followed by decreases in 2003-04 and 2004-05 of 17% and 30% respectively.

18.15 Mineral commodities produced, Quantity
		2000-01	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	Percentage change from 2000-01 to 2004-05
Metallic minerals
Bauxite	Mt	54.5	54.5	54.4	55.7	57.4	5.5
Copper (metal content)	’000 t	871.5	861.4	821.7	774.7	896.1	2.8
Gold (metal content)	t	286.4	262.7	273.1	267.4	254.8	-11.0
Iron ore and concentrate	Mt	166.7	167.4	193.6	205.1	236.2	41.7
Lead (metal content)	’000 t	688.9	684.3	653.7	663.8	642.8	-6.7
Nickel (metal content)	’000 t	167.5	179.0	192.0	182.0	180.0	7.5
Silver (metal content)	t	1 999.8	1 999.2	1 912.9	2 018.6	2 225.5	11.3
Uranium oxide	t	9 629.6	7 717.0	9 148.0	9 532.0	10 963.0	13.8
Zinc (metal content)	’000 t	1 282.7	1 295.6	1 326.9	1 214.6	1 184.4	-7.7
Fuel minerals
Black coal (saleable)	Mt	258.3	272.2	274.8	283.8	305.0	18.1
Brown coal	Mt	65.0	66.7	66.8	66.3	67.2	3.4
Crude oil	ML	33 124	31 097	27 061	23 670	20 897	-36.9
Condensate	ML	6 442	6 974	7 526	6 825	7 757	20.4
Natural gas	Mm3	23 609	23 823	24 176	24 748	23 328	-1.2
LNG	t	8 260 389	7 424 658	7 765 874	7 787 261	11 037 572	33.6
Industrial minerals
Diamonds	'000 ct	25 516.8	25 785.1	38 996.1	32 499.1	22 791.8	-10.7
Salt	'000 t	9 597.3	9 403.5	10 438.0	10 634.7	12 260.3	27.7
Ilmenite	t	1 174 415	927 593	1 133 556	905 367	859 188	-26.8
Synthetic rutile	t	643 274	590 804	597 274	592 178	648 796	0.9
Leucoxene	t	39 814	39 768	38 060	51 734	70 372	76.8
Rutile	t	205 336	204 703	192 629	189 229	158 665	-22.7
Zircon	’000 t	391.9	369.9	468.4	472.6	469.2	19.7
Manganese ore	t	1 985 427.0	1 914 068.0	2 471 981.0	3 066 754.0	3 584 893.0	80.6
Source: Mining Operations, Australia (8415.0).

The largest increases in percentage terms in the value of minerals production in the period 2000-01 to 2004-05 were for manganese ore (127%) and iron ore and concentrate (67%). The increase in iron ore and concentrate was also the second largest in dollar terms ($3,329m) behind saleable black coal ($6,139m). The most significant decrease in percentage terms was for zinc (27%).

18.16 Mineral commodities produced, Value
	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	Percentage change from 2000-01 to 2004-05
	$m	$m	$m	$m	$m	$m
Metallic minerals
Bauxite	891	986	782	817	862	-3.3
Copper (metal content)	2 928	2 509	2 260	2 542	3 777	29.0
Gold (metal content)	4 318	4 679	5 046	4 731	4 635	7.3
Iron ore and concentrate	5 001	5 235	5 298	5 359	8 330	66.6
Lead (metal content)	617	623	502	654	830	34.5
Nickel (metal content)	2 278	2 034	2 528	3 139	3 613	58.6
Silver (metal content)	562	544	490	530	666	18.5
Uranium oxide	493	378	308	382	463	-6.1
Zinc (metal content)	2 544	1 969	1 778	1 649	1 852	-27.2
Fuel minerals
Black coal (saleable)(a)	11 579	14 525	12 724	11 566	17 718	53.0
Brown coal	520	533	534	531	843	62.1
Crude oil	10 314	8 415	7 888	6 721	8 518	-17.4
Condensate	2 189	1 868	2 207	1 925	3 008	37.4
Natural gas	2 210	2 245	2 250	2 380	2 445	10.6
LNG	2 696	2 971	3 131	2 776	3 782	40.3
Industrial minerals
Diamonds	633	506	788	520	467	-26.2
Salt	264	273	260	211	239	-9.5
Ilmenite	np	np	np	np	np	np
Synthetic rutile	409	385	354	307	334	-18.3
Leucoxene	18	19	16	20	22	22.2
Rutile	np	np	np	np	np	np
Zircon	np	np	np	np	np	np
Manganese ore	211	267	275	282	478	126.5
np not available for publication but included in totals where applicable, unless otherwise indicated
(a) Excludes production from Tasmania.
Source: Mining Operations, Australia (8415.0).

As few minerals can be directly used in the form in which they are mined, most of these undergo processing and treatment before use.

Table 18.17 shows the production of the main manufactured products of mineral origin.

18.17 PRODUCTION OF PRINCIPAL MANUFACTURED PRODUCTS, By mineral origin
			2001-02	2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06
METALS
Non-ferrous
	Alumina	’000 t	16 417	16 413	16 690	17 161	17 826
	Refined aluminium	’000 t	1 809	1 855	1 877	1 890	1 890
	Refined copper	’000 t	561	537	459	479	461
	Lead bullion	’000 t	201	181	143	153	141
	Refined lead	’000 t	275	267	247	234	234
	Refined zinc	’000 t	572	570	502	464	446
	Refined tin	t	829	708	553	445	736
Ferrous
	Raw steel	’000 t	8 611	9 399	9 430	7 395	7 884
Precious
	Refined gold	t	346	386	397	345	380
	Refined silver	t	616	672	619	722	655
PETROLEUM
Petroleum products
	Diesel automotive oil	ML	13 064	13 335	12 544	12 822	10 154
	Industrial and marine diesel fuel	ML	105	117	84	22	31
	Fuel oil	ML	1 684	1 441	1 105	1 092	1 048
	Automotive gasoline	ML	18 000	17 984	17 375	17 913	16 528
BUILDING MATERIALS
Clay bricks (standard brick equivalent)		mill.	1 602	1 733	1 789	1 705	1 606
Portland cement		’000 t	7 235	7 731	8 460	8 925	8 910
CHEMICALS
Single superphosphates		’000 t	2 052	1 423	1 446	1 594	1 309
Source: Manufacturing Production, Australia (8301.0.55.001); Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE), 'Australian Mineral Statistics', various issues and 'Australian Commodity Statistics 2006' .

Exports of minerals

Export earnings of minerals, (including oil and gas) from the Australian resources sector rose to $91 billion (b) in 2005-06, an increase of $22b on the previous year. The resources sector covering minerals and energy production includes some commodities which are processed outside the Mining industry (as defined by ANZSIC).

Tables 18.18 and 18.19 shows the quantity and value of the main mineral commodities exported from Australia. In 2005-06, black coal (including coking and steaming) was the largest export earner ($24b), followed by iron ore and pellets ($13b), refined gold ($7b), crude oil and other refinery feedstock ($7b), copper ($6b), alumina ($5b) and aluminium ($5b).

18.18 EXPORTS OF MINERAL COMMODITIES, Quantity
			2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06
Alumina		kt	13 168	13 572	14 073	14 499
Aluminium (ingot metal)		kt	1 551	1 546	1 512	1 615
Coal, black
	Coking	Mt	108	112	125	120
	Steaming	Mt	100	107	106	111
Copper		kt	687	652	701	791
Diamonds		'000 ct	32 274	24 326	32 515	27 751
Gold, refined		t	282	315	309	315
Iron and steel
	Iron ore and pellets	Mt	181	195	228	239
	Iron and steel	kt	3 589	3 818	2 338	2 428
Lead		kt	735	688	782	756
Manganese ore and concentrate		kt	2 014	2 603	3 128	3 215
Oil and gas
	Crude oil and other refinery feedstock	ML	20 950	17 526	15 731	13 078
	LNG	Mt	8	8	11	12
	LPG	ML	3 194	2 916	2 844	2 800
Salt		kt	10 172	10 285	12 128	10 776
Tin		t	5 963	143	1 529	1 556
Titanium minerals
	Ilmenite concentrate	kt	1 020	783	633	722
	Rutile concentrate	kt	195	146	158	169
Uranium oxide		t	9 593	9 099	11 249	10 253
Zinc		kt	1 548	1 369	1 427	1 337
Zircon concentrate		kt	445	443	428	435
Source: Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE), 'Australian Commodity Statistics, 2006'.

18.19 EXPORTS OF MINERAL COMMODITIES, Value
		2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06
		$m	$m	$m	$m
Alumina		3 660	3 781	4 383	5 262
Aluminium (ingot metal)		3 696	3 441	3 726	4 781
Coal, black
	Coking	7 448	6 510	10 758	17 003
	Steaming	4 448	4 372	6 336	7 206
Copper		2 005	2 166	3 082	5 681
Diamonds		789	531	650	626
Gold, refined		5 133	5 510	5 523	7 117
Iron and steel
	Iron ore and pellets	5 342	5 277	8 120	12 832
	Iron and steel	1 855	2 004	2 031	1 674
Lead		657	728	1 041	1 295
Manganese ore and concentrate		312	371	473	424
Oil and gas
	Crude oil and other refinery feedstock	6 402	5 055	6 330	6 667
	LNG	2 607	2 174	3 199	4 416
	LPG	855	647	804	1 002
Salt		233	186	226	229
Tin		38	1	8	12
Titanium minerals
	Ilmenite concentrate	135	82	63	76
	Rutile concentrate	149	94	114	138
Uranium oxide		427	364	475	546
Zinc		1 427	1 234	1 466	2 542
Zircon concentrate		282	260	319	395
Source: Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE), 'Australian Commodity Statistics, 2006'.

Graph 18.20 shows the value of Australia's four largest mineral exports during the period 1998-99 to 2005-06. Exports of black coal, iron ore and pellets, and crude oil and other refinery feedstock have been growing over this period with crude oil and other refinery feedstock recording the largest increase (254%) followed by iron ore and pellets (234%) and black coal (162%). Refined gold increased 13% for the same period. The increases for black coal exports in 2000-01, 2004-05 and 2005-06 were due to an increase in unit values of coking and steaming coal exports. A similar peak was observed for the export of crude oil occurring in 2000-01. Over the five years following this peak the export values of crude oil and other refinery feedstock fell by more than $1b.


The major markets for Australian mineral and oil exports were Japan, China, the Republic of (South) Korea, India and Singapore in the period 1990-91 to 2005-06 (graph 18.21).

Japan was consistently the main destination for Australian minerals receiving 28% ($24b) of total mineral exports in 2005-06. The main minerals exported to Japan were aluminium, coal, copper ores and concentrate, iron ore and pellets, crude oil and other refinery feedstock, LNG and LPG. Of this, coal was the most significant. In 2005-06, 59 megatonnes (Mt) of steaming coal and 44 Mt of coking coal were exported to Japan (54% and 37% respectively of total Australian exports for these commodities). In the same year, 2,201 megalitres (ML) of crude oil and other refinery feedstock, 2,142 ML of LPG and 72,313 kilotonne (kt) of iron ore and pellets were also exported to this country. These exports respectively accounted for 17%, 77% and 30% of Australia's total exports of crude oil and other refinery feedstock, LPG and iron ore and pellets. Aluminium and copper concentrate exports to Japan contributed 34% and 24% respectively of total exports for each commodity.Other major export destinations in 2005-06 were China, the Republic of (South) Korea, India and Singapore. After Japan, the Republic of (South) Korea was the main market for Australia's black coal with steaming coal amounting to 20Mt (18% of total steaming coal exported). Other major exports to the Republic of (South) Korea included iron ore and pellets, lead concentrate, lead refined, crude oil and other refinery feed stock and zinc ore which accounted for 10%, 26%, 10%, 21% and 28% respectively of export totals. Singapore was a major market for Australian crude oil and other refinery feedstock, importing 3,110 ML in 2005-06, 24% of the total volume exported.

China has become a major export destination for iron ore and pellets, lead concentrate and LPG accounting for 52%, 50% and 14% respectively of total exports for these commodities.

Exports to India have been increasing since 1990-91 with a sharp increase between 2002-03 and 2003-04 (107%). Gold exports to India accounted for 40% (127 tonnes) of Australian exports of gold in 2005-06.

Imports of minerals and petroleum

Many imported mineral and petroleum commodities have had a certain amount of manufacturing applied to their raw forms. Table 18.22 provides details of the major commodities imported in the period 2002-03 to 2005-06. In terms of value, the largest imports for 2005-06 were for crude oil and other refinery feedstock ($13b), followed by other refinery products ($9b). The major sources of Australian imports of crude oil and other refinery feedstock were Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam with a combined value of $7.8b (61% of the total import value for this commodity).

18.22 IMPORTS OF MINERALS AND PETROLEUM
			2002-03	2003-04	2004-05	2005-06
Quantity
Diamonds		'000 ct	3 218	2 229	2 168	4 098
Gold			na	na	na	na
Iron and steel
	Iron ore and pellets	kt	4 667	5 417	4 648	5 026
	Iron and steel	kt	1 306	1 583	2 116	2 191
Petroleum
	Crude oil and other refinery feedstock	ML	27 958	23 498	26 054	24 429
	LPG	ML	299	785	540	598
	Automotive gasoline	ML	1 673	3 242	3 131	3 697
	Diesel fuel	ML	1 627	3 374	3 944	6 122
	Other refinery products	ML	5 194	9 762	10 648	14 534
Phosphate rock		kt	711	723	797	655
Platinum and platinum group metals		kg	2 319	2 984	2 391	2 097
Value
Diamonds		$m	302	309	347	403
Gold		$m	2 957	2 559	2 462	4 800
Iron and steel
	Iron ore and pellets	$m	114	140	145	222
	Iron and steel	$m	1 226	1 353	2 041	2 075
Petroleum
	Crude oil and other refinery feedstock	$m	8 610	6 594	9 995	12 839
	LPG	$m	76	166	143	194
	Automotive gasoline	$m	569	1 168	1 463	2 348
	Diesel fuel	$m	561	1 134	1 933	4 076
	Other refinery products	$m	1 971	3 428	4 979	8 575
Phosphate rock		$m	50	41	49	42
Platinum and platinum group metals		$m	64	86	59	70
na not available
Source: Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE), 'Australian Commodity Statistics, 2006' and 'Australian Mineral Statistics', various issues.

Graph 18.23 shows imports of selected major minerals and petroleum during the period 1999-2000 to 2005-06. The imports of crude oil and other refinery feedstock were significantly larger than the imports of other minerals particularly in 2004-05 and 2005-06. While the volumes of imports of crude oil and other refinery feedstock fluctuated over the period 1999-2000 to 2005-06, the large changes in the value of imports were mainly due to significant unit value rises in 2000-01, 2004-05 and 2005-06.

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