Australia's Identified Mineral Resources 2023 World Rankings
Last updated:1 March 2024
World Rankings
Australia’s EDR of gold, iron ore, lead, nickel, rutile, uranium, zinc and zircon were the world’s largest in 2022 (Table 5). Another 14 commodities ranked in the top five for world economic resources: bauxite, black coal, brown coal, cobalt, copper, ilmenite, lithium, magnesite, manganese ore, molybdenum, silver, tin, tungsten and vanadium (Table 5). Australia’s ranking for economic resources of molybdenum rose from sixth in the world in 2021 to fifth in 2022 as economic resources in China were revised downwards and Australian resources increased.
In 2022, Australia was the top global producer for bauxite, iron ore and rutile (all bulk commodities), as well as lithium which is important for battery storage technologies. Australia was the second largest producer of lead and zircon; the third largest producer of gold, manganese ore, rare earths and zinc; the fourth largest producer of cobalt and uranium; and the fifth largest producer of black coal, nickel and tantalum (Table 5). During 2022, Australia was a reliable and responsible top five producer of 15 minerals and metals, of which eight are listed in Australia as Critical Minerals and two are listed as Strategic Materials13.
Table 5. World ranking for Australian Economic Resources and Australian production as at December 2022.
| Commodity | World Ranking for Economic Resources | Share of World Economic Resources | World Ranking for Production | Share of World Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antimony | 6 | 7% | 6 | 2% |
| Bauxite | 3 | 12% | 1 | 27% |
| Black Coal – Recoverable | 4 | 10% | 5 | 6% |
| Brown Coal – Recoverable | 2 | 23% | 8 | 4% |
| Chromium | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Cobalt | 2 | 19% | 4 | 3% |
| Copper | 2 | 11% | 8 | 4% |
| Diamond | minor | minor | 0 | 0% |
| Fluorine | 9 | minor | 0 | 0% |
| Gold | 1 | 22% | 3 | 10% |
| Graphite | 8 | 3% | 0 | 0% |
| Ilmenite | 2 | 27% | 6 | 5% |
| Iron Ore | 1 | 31% | 1 | 35% |
| Lead | 1 | 42% | 2 | 10% |
| Lithium | 2 | 26% | 1 | 52% |
| Magnesite | 4 | 4% | 9 | 2% |
| Manganese Ore | 4 | 16% | 3 | 10% |
| Molybdenum | 5 | 6% | minor | minor |
| Nickel | 1 | 23% | 5 | 5% |
| Niobium | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown |
| Phosphate | 9 | 2% | unknown | minor |
| PGE | minor | minor | minor | minor |
| Potash | 12 | 1% | minor | minor |
| Rare Earths | 6 | 4% | 3 | 5% |
| Rutile | 1 | 65% | 1 | 27% |
| Scandium | unknown | unknown | 0 | 0% |
| Silver | 2 | 17% | 8 | 5% |
| Tantalum | unknown | unknown | 5 | 4% |
| Thorium | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0% |
| Tin | 4 | 13% | 8 | 3% |
| Tungsten | 2 | 15% | minor | minor |
| Uranium | 1 | 32% | 4 | 9% |
| Vanadium | 2 | 32% | 0 | 0% |
| Zinc | 1 | 31% | 3 | 10% |
| Zircon | 1 | 74% | 2 | 25% |
Abbreviations
PGE = platinum group elements (platinum, palladium, osmium, iridium, ruthenium, rhodium).
Notes
World rankings determined by comparing Australia’s EDR and production to economic resources and production reported for other countries (see sources below). Undocumented resources and production are not used in the comparisons.
Minor = <1% of global economic resources and/or production, therefore Australia’s ranking unable to be determined.
Unknown = Global economic resources are too opaque for comparisons (e.g., there are large, undocumented tantalum resources in the Congo) or Australian production is likely to have occurred during the year but quantities are not publicly available.
World rankings for black coal resources and production based on 2020 data.
Uranium EDR based on Reasonably Assured Resources recoverable at costs of less than US$130/kg.
Sources
United States Geological Survey (Mineral Commodity Summaries 2023), International Atomic Energy Agency/Nuclear Energy Agency (Uranium 2022: Resources, Production and Demand), World Nuclear Organisation (Uranium Production, Figures, 2013-2022, May 2023 update), Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources, Germany (Energy Study 2021).
13 See Footnote 6.