Australia's Identified Mineral Resources 2024 Australia’s Estimated Ore Reserves

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Australia’s Estimated Ore Reserves

As part of the Australian Government’s annual assessment of the national minerals inventory, Geoscience Australia compiles all known estimates of Ore Reserves and Mineral Resources reported publicly by mining companies in accordance with the Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) Code, or JORC-equivalent codes. In addition, reserve and resource estimates from private companies and foreign companies operating in Australia are also included in the annual compilation wherever possible.

Determining how much of a particular mineral commodity is in the ground and how much is extractable is not an exact science, hence Ore Reserves and Mineral Resources are always referred to as estimates, never calculations. Ore Reserves and Mineral Resources are categorised by confidence in both the geology of the deposit and the economic viability of production. Of all the different categories under the JORC Code (see Appendix 1), an Ore Reserve is the category of highest confidence. From a commercial point of view, this category is the most applicable to understanding the state of Australia’s minerals industry now and in the near future (say, the next five years).

Geoscience Australia began publishing amalgamated national totals for Ore Reserves in 2002. Prior to this, these estimates were included within the national inventory of EDR (and continue to be included) but were not specifically noted.

The JORC Code

In December 2023, the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) listed more than 1,900 companies. Of these, approximately 47% were categorised as belonging to the energy and materials sectors, which includes mining and exploration companies. Recognising that confidence in such a large part of the Australian economy is paramount, the JORC (The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, the Australian Institute of Geoscientists and the Minerals Council of Australia) have developed the JORC Code for reporting exploration results and estimates of Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves to the public.

The JORC Code has been adopted by the ASX as part of its listing rules and its use is mandatory for all mining companies listed on the ASX and New Zealand Stock Exchange. Variations of the JORC Code have been adopted in many other parts of the world and the code is compatible with the international CRIRSCO10 and United Nations Framework Classification for Resources templates.

In commencing the most recent periodic review of the JORC Code, the Committee noted that while the key focus of the Code remains to provide principles-based disclosure transparency, there are a number of areas where industry, regulator and public expectations have evolved since the last update in 201211 . In July 2021, the Committee released its JORC Summary Paper of Key Issues and Work Plan in which it noted the strong support to update the Competent Person framework and to address environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations in the JORC Code where appropriate12. The proposed update underwent further revision during 2024 and was still under consideration as of January 2025.

Operating mines

In 2023, Australia had over 330 operating mines producing 27 major and minor mineral commodities. In addition, there were a large number of excavations for a range of industrial materials and gemstones (not covered in this publication). In determining the outlook for the industry in Australia, it is useful to look at the Ore Reserves and Mineral Resources associated with operating mines (Table 1) as it is usually easier and cheaper to expand current mines than to start new ones. While some of the mines that operated in 2023 have since closed or been placed on care and maintenance, subject to favourable economic, environmental and regulatory conditions, most will continue mining for the foreseeable future.

One way of gaining an impression of future viability of a mine or resource is to calculate the ratio of reserves or resources to production, thus establishing a reserve or resource ‘life’ (Table 1). The resulting reserve or resource life must be treated with caution as it is an average and it assumes three things:

  1. that production rates in the future will remain the same as those used in the calculation,
  2. deposits deemed economic/uneconomic remain so in the future, and
  3. that depleted resources are never replaced.

In reality, production rates vary from year to year, mining companies continually reassess the economic viability of their deposits and companies typically do upgrade resources or discover new resources to replace ore depletion.

Nonetheless, this ratio provides a potentially useful ‘snapshot in time’ that can help reveal trends in Australia’s ability to supply a range of mineral resources into the future.

Table 1

Table 1. Australia's Ore Reserves and Mineral Resources of selected commodities at operating mines in 2023.

CommodityUnit No. of Operating Mines1 Ore Reserves2 Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources3 Inferred Mineral Resources4 Mine Production5 Reserve Life (years) Resource Life 1 (years) Resource Life 2 (years)
Antimony kt Sb 1 10.6 28.8 5.1 1.9(6) 6 16 19
Bauxite Mt 9 1,725 3,194 2,053 103.8 17 31 51
Black Coal Mt 95 9,532 30,001(7) 17,987 428(8) 18 57 112
Cobalt kt Co 7 199 301 45 5.3(9) 38 57 65
Copper Mt Cu 28 20.04 83.99 24.61 0.78 26 108 139
Gold t Au 157 3,384 7,276 2,650 296 11 25 34
Iron Ore Mt 46 11,802 29,545 50,701 953 12 31 84
Lead Mt Pb 14 7.19 26.77 9.46 0.47 15 57 77
Lithium kt Li 7 4,019 6,169 1,075 95(10) 42 65 76
Manganese Ore Mt 3 115 218 73 4.1(11) 28 53 71
Magnesite Mt MgCO3 4 37 72 379 0.4(12) 87 166 >1,000
Mineral Sands(13)
Ilmenite Mt 17 40.4 111.5 26.6 0.63 64 177 220
Rutile Mt 14 2.0 5.0 1.6 0.20 10 25 33
Zircon Mt 15 11.1 28.5 7.5 0.41 27 70 88
Molybdenum Mt 1 109 152 0 1.2 89 126 126
Nickel Mt Ni 15 4.5 7.7 2.3 0.15 30 52 67
Rare Earths(14) Mt oxide 2 1.41 1.91 1.35 0.029(15) 49 67 114
Silver(16) kt Ag 23 16.42 63.14 21.41 1.03 16 61 82
Tin kt Sn 1 173 296 30 9.9(17) 17 30 33
Tungsten kt W 3 22.9 77.7 28.86 0.52(18) 44 149 205
Uranium kt U 2 315 1,024 342 4.686(19) 67 219 292
Zinc Mt Zn 14 16.07 52.02 19.67 1.10 15 47 65

Abbreviations

t = tonne; kt = kilotonne (1,000 t); Mt = million tonne (1,000,000 t).
Where an element symbol follows the unit it refers to contained metal content.

Notes

Reserve Life = Ore Reserves ÷ Production.
Resource Life 1 = Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources ÷ Production.
Resource Life 2 = (Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources + Inferred Mineral Resources) ÷ Production.

  1. The number of operating mines counts individual mines that operated during 2023 and thus contributed to production. Some of these mines may belong to larger, multi-mine operations and some may have closed during or since 2023.
  2. The majority of Australian Ore Reserves and Mineral Resources are reported in compliance with the JORC Code, however there are a number of companies that report to foreign stock exchanges using other reporting codes, which are largely equivalent. In addition, Geoscience Australia may hold confidential information for some commodities. Ore Reserves are as at 31 December 2023. NB: Not all operating mines report Ore Reserves.
  3. Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources are inclusive of the Ore Reserves. Mineral Resources are as at 31 December 2023. NB: Not all operating mines report Mineral Resources.
  4. Inferred Mineral Resources are as at 31 December 2023. NB: Not all operating mines report Mineral Resources.
  5. Mining production from Office of the Chief Economist, Department of Industry, Science and Resources (Resources and Energy Quarterly, September 2024), unless otherwise stated. Production data often have a higher level of certainty than reserve and resource estimates and, thus, may be presented with more significant figures.
  6. Antimony production from company reports (Mandalay Resources Ltd).
  7. Measured, Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources for black coal are presented on a recoverable basis. These are Geoscience Australia estimates unless provided by the company.
  8. Mine production refers to saleable coal.
  9. Cobalt production data from Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, Western Australian Government (2023 Major Commodities Resource Data File) and company reports (Mallee Resources Ltd).
  10. Lithium production data in previous editions of Australia's Identified Mineral Resources was sourced from Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, Western Australian Government (2022 Major Commodities Resource Data File) and Core Lithium Ltd reported production from Finniss in the Northern Territory. 2023 lithium production data is from the Office of the Chief Economist, Department of Industry, Science and Resources (Resources and Energy Quarterly, September 2024), production of lithium estimated assuming 6% Li2O in spodumene concentrates.
  11. Australian manganese ore production from Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, Western Australian Government (2023 Major Commodities Resource Data File) and company reports (OM Holdings Ltd and South 32 Ltd).
  12. Australian magnesite production from South Australia Department for Energy and Mining (Report Book 2024/00024), the Queensland Department of Resources (Annual Mineral Summary 2022-23) and assumed minor production from New South Wales.
  13. Australian mineral sands production data based on estimates from New South Wales Government Department of Regional NSW (pers. comm.), Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety Western Australian Government (2023 Major Commodities Resource Data File), South Australia Department for Energy and Mining (Report Book 2024/00024), and Northern Territory Department of Industry Tourism and Trade (2023 Northern Territory Mining Production).
  14. Rare earths comprise rare earth oxides (REO) and yttrium oxide (Y2O3).
  15. Rare earths production data from Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, Western Australian Government (2023 Major Commodities Resource Data File).
  16. Major silver producing mines only; many gold and copper mines also produce silver as a by-product but these are not counted here.
  17. The Office of the Chief Economist reports tin production of 9.9 kt in 2023. Renison, Australia’s only significant tin mine, reports 9.5 kt. Additional production is as by-product from other operations such as Greenbushes.
  18. Tungsten production is a Geoscience Australia estimate based on company correspondence (Tasmania Mines Pty Ltd) and company reports (EQ Resources Ltd and Group 6 Metals Limited).
  19. Uranium production from company reports (BHP Ltd and Heathgate Resources Pty Ltd).

Ore Reserves at other mines and deposits

Australia’s Identified Mineral Resources covers 36 mineral commodities, of which 31 have estimated Ore Reserves and 27 were actually in production in 2023 (Table 2). For some commodities (e.g. antimony, bauxite and magnesite) all of the Ore Reserves are associated with operating mines (Figure 1). For most commodities (e.g. gold, iron ore  and zinc), Ore Reserves are also attributable to mines on care and maintenance, mines under development and, in some cases, undeveloped deposits. Other commodities, such as Australia’s graphite, scandium and vanadium sectors, did not have operating mines in 2023, so Ore Reserves are predominantly attributable to developing mines and undeveloped deposits.

Due to the complexity of this figure, no alternative description has been provided. Please email Geoscience Australia at clientservices@ga.gov.au for an alternative description.

Figure 1. Ore Reserves attributable to mine and deposit status as a percentage of total Australian Ore Reserves in 2023.

Table 2

Table 2. Australia's Estimated Ore Reserves1 as at December 2023.

CommodityUnit Proved Ore Reserves Probable Ore Reserves Proven & Probable Ore Reserves2 Total Ore Reserves Mine Production3 Reserve Life
Antimony kt Sb 7.6 3.0 0 10.6 1.9(4) 6
Bauxite Mt 674 1,051 0 1,725 103.8 17
Black Coal  Mt 6,210 6,356 1,346 13,912 428(5) 33
Brown Coal  Mt n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 38.6(6) n.a.
Chromium kt Cr 0 0 0 0 0 0
Cobalt kt Co 247 431 0 678 5.3(7) 128
Copper Mt Cu 9.23 18.13 0 27.36 0.78 35
Diamond Mc 0 0 0 0 0 0
Fluorine kt F 0 0 0 0 0 0
Gold t Au 1,015 3,471 0 4,486 296 15
Graphite Mt 1.5 3.9 0 5.4 0 n.a.
High Purity Alumina Ore(8) Mt 0.2 1.0 0.0 1.2 0 n.a.
Iron(9)
Hematite ore Mt 5,186 8,046 0 13,232 n.a. n.a.
Magnetite ore Mt 2,593 8,727 0 11,320 n.a. n.a.
Iron ore  Mt 7,770 16,635 0 24,405 953 26
Contained iron Mt Fe 3,631 6,845 0 10,476 589 18
Lead Mt Pb 5.69 4.45 0 10.14 0.47 22
Lithium kt Li 335 4,716 0 5,051 95(10) 53
Magnesite Mt MgCO3 10 3 24 37 0.4(11) 86
Manganese Ore Mt 40 60 17 116 4.1(12) 28
Mineral Sands
Ilmenite Mt 33.0 41.6 0 74.6 0.63(13) 118
Rutile Mt 6.7 6.1 0 12.7 0.20(13) 64
Zircon Mt 15.2 17.6 0 32.8 0.41(13) 80
Molybdenum kt Mo 0 263 0 263 1.2(14) 219
Nickel Mt Ni 3.8 6.7 0 10.5 0.15 70
Niobium kt Nb 58 0 0 58 n.a.(15) n.a.
PGE  t metal 5.8 54.2 0 60.1 0.512(16) 117
Phosphate
Phosphate rock(17) Mt 14 28 81 123 0.7 (18) 176
Contained P2O5 Mt P2O5 4 9 20 32 n.a. n.a.
Potash Mt K2O 2.8 15.4 0 18.3 <0.01(19) n.a.
Rare Earths(20) Mt oxide 1.72 1.62 0 3.34 0.029(21) 117
Scandium kt Sc 6.02 5.63 0 11.65 0 n.a.
Silver kt Ag 12.25 9.99 0 22.24 1.03 22
Tantalum kt Ta 7.1 25.8 0 32.9 0.2(22) 207
Thorium kt Th 0 0 0 0 0 0
Tin kt Sn 42 179 0 220 9.9 22
Tungsten kt W 21 199 0 220 0.52(23) 423
Uranium kt U 171 160 0 331 4.686(24) 71
Vanadium kt V 71 2,205 0 2,277 0 n.a.
Zinc Mt Zn 11.01 7.77 0 18.79 1.10 17

Abbreviations

t = tonne; kt = kilotonnes (1,000 t); Mt = million tonnes (1,000,000 t); Mc = million carats (1,000,000 carats); n.a. = not available; HPA = High Purity Alumina; PGE = platinum group elements (Pt, Pd, Os, Ir, Ru, Rh).
Where an element symbol follows the unit it refers to contained metal content.

Notes

Reserve Life = Ore Reserves ÷ Production.
Figures are rounded so Proved, Probable and Proven & Probable Ore Reserves may not add up to Total Ore Reserves exactly.

  1. The majority of Australian Ore Reserves are reported in compliance with the JORC Code, however there are a number of companies that report to foreign stock exchanges using other reporting codes, which are largely equivalent. In addition, Geoscience Australia may hold confidential information for some commodities.
  2. ‘Proven & Probable Ore Reserves’ is a reporting category distinct from 'Proved Reserves' and 'Probable Reserves'. It is no longer supported by the JORC Code but because some overseas reporting codes still use this category, and some historical resources fall into this category, it is included in this table.
  3. Mining production from Office of the Chief Economist, Department of Industry, Science and Resources (Resources and Energy Quarterly, September 2024), unless otherwise stated. Production data often have a higher level of certainty than reserve and resource estimates and, thus, may be presented with more significant figures.
  4. Antimony production from company reports (Mandalay Resources Ltd).
  5. Black coal production refers to saleable coal.
  6. Australian production of brown coal is sourced from the Victorian State Government, Earth Resources Regulation, Annual Statistical Report FY 2022-23.
  7. Cobalt production data from Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, Western Australian Government (2023 Major Commodities Resource Data File) and company reports (Mallee Resources Ltd).
  8. Australia's high purity alumina ore is primarily kaolin, but other ore types do occur.
  9. Hematite ore and magnetite ore do not add exactly to total iron ore Resources due to a small number of data discrepancies.
  10. Lithium production data in previous editions of Australia's Identified Mineral Resources was sourced from Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, Western Australian Government (2022 Major Commodities Resource Data File) and Core Lithium Ltd reported production from Finniss in the Northern Territory. 2023 lithium production data is from the Office of the Chief Economist, Department of Industry, Science and Resources (Resources and Energy Quarterly, September 2024), production of lithium estimated assuming 6% Li2O in spodumene concentrates.
  11. Australian magnesite production from South Australia Department for Energy and Mining (Report Book 2024/00024), the Queensland Department of Resources (Annual Mineral Summary 2022-23) and assumed minor production from New South Wales.
  12. Australian manganese ore production from Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, Western Australian Government (2023 Major Commodities Resource Data File) and company reports (OM Holdings Ltd and South 32 Ltd).
  13. Australian mineral sands production data based on estimates from New South Wales Government Department of Regional NSW (pers. comm.), Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety Western Australian Government (2023 Major Commodities Resource Data File), South Australia Department for Energy and Mining (Report Book 2024/00035), and Northern Territory Department of Industry Tourism and Trade (2023 Northern Territory Mining Production).
  14. Molybdenum production is a Geoscience Australia estimate based on company correspondence (Newmont Mining Ltd).
  15. There are no mines producing niobium as a primary product in Australia but it is likely produced in concentrate or as a by-product at some lithium/tantalum operations, but these data have not been reported.
  16. Platinum and palladium production data from Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, Western Australian Government (2023 Major Commodities Resource Data File).
  17. Phosphate rock is reported as being economic at grades ranging from 8.7% to 30.2% P2O5.
  18. Phosphate production based on company correspondence (616,942 t from Christmas Island; Phosphate Resources Ltd), 1,012 t recorded by the South Australia Department for Energy and Mining (Report Book 2024/00024) and and 123,000 t recorded by the Queensland Department of Mines (Annual Mineral Summary 2022-23).
  19. Australian potash production (5,503 tonnes) from Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, Western Australian Government (2023 Major Commodities Resource Data File).
  20. Rare earths comprise rare earth oxides (REO) and yttrium oxide (Y2O3).
  21. Rare earths production data from Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, Western Australian Government (2023 Major Commodities Resource Data File).
  22. Tantalum production data from Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, Western Australian Government (2023 Major Commodities Resource Data File). Production represents a maximum as no correction has been made for actual tantalite concentration in reported concentrates.
  23. Tungsten production is a Geoscience Australia estimate based on company correspondence (Tasmania Mines Pty Ltd) and company reports (EQ Resources Ltd and Group 6 Metals Limited).
  24. Uranium production from company reports (BHP Ltd and Heathgate Resources Pty Ltd).

10 CRIRSCO is the Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards.

11 Australian Institute of Geoscientists. JORC Code Update.

12 Australasian Joint Ore Reserves Committee, JORC Summary Paper of Key Issues and Work Plan.