Value of Australian Mineral Exports
In 2018, Australian mineral exports (excluding petroleum products) amounted to approximately $201 billion, which was more than 58% of all export merchandise and 46% of all exported goods and services (Table 10). Domestically, mining industries accounted 8.4% of gross domestic product in the 2018 calendar year. Table 10 also shows that mineral export earnings in 2018 were up 12% on 2017, continuing the gains seen since 2016. Prior to this, the Australian economy was subject to large price falls for many mineral commodities, particularly for iron ore and coal, following the 2008 global financial crisis.
Quarterly reports published by the Office of the Chief Economist show that the main mineral export earners in 2018 were iron ore (31.5% of total mineral export earnings), black coal (33.2%), gold (9.4%), copper (4.6%), bauxite-alumina-aluminium (7.9%), nickel (2.1%) and zinc (2.0%; Table 11). These same minerals were the main income earners in the previous year (Table 12).
Significant increases in export earnings were recorded in 2018 by alumina, aluminium, bauxite, black coal, copper, gold, steel, iron scrap, unrefined lead, nickel and unrefined zinc (Table 12). The increased export earnings for gold, steel and unrefined lead and zinc generally correlated with increased export volumes (Table 12). In contrast, increased export earnings for alumina in 2018 (up 38%) was the result of higher prices as there was no significant change in export volume. Other significant prices rises in 2018 were seen for aluminium, black coal, copper, scrap iron, unsorted diamonds and nickel, which all had prices increases of 10% or more compared to 2017 (Table 12).
The nickel sector experienced the most significant gains in 2018 with refined and intermediate nickel showing a 31% increase in export volume and a massive 83% increase in export earnings owing to a 39% increase in value (Table 12). Bauxite, aluminium, black coal, copper, gold and zinc also recorded increased volumes outpaced by increased export earnings due to price rises (Table 12). For example, zinc ore and concentrate was up 30% by volume compared to 2017 but had a 38% increase in export earnings. In contrast, gem-quality diamonds saw prices reduced by 56% in 2018 and it was only a massive 145% increase in export volume that prevented export earnings from decreasing compared to 2017 (Table 12).
Comparing export earnings to export volume, it is clear that processed mineral commodities are worth more per unit than raw minerals or concentrates, often significantly so. Bauxite in 2018, for example, was worth $42/t whereas alumina was worth $580/t (Table 11). This is a 14-fold increase on the price of alumina; bearing in mind it takes two-to three tonnes of bauxite to make one tonne of alumina. Further, it takes two tonnes of alumina to make one tonne of aluminium metal which was worth $2976/t in 2018 (Table 11). This is a fivefold increase on the price of alumina and a massive 70-fold increase on the price of bauxite. Similar value adding is seen in the copper, iron and zinc sector and, to a lesser extent, in the lead sector. Thus any appraisal of the strength of Australia’s minerals industry must also include domestic downstream processes, such as refining and smelting, in addition to mineral discovery, mining and raw material exports.
Table 10. Export value ($million) of mineral commodities, resources and energy, merchandise and goods and services, 2011 to 2018
| Category | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Mineral Exports | 167 867 | 149 879 | 162 572 | 158 312 | 140 885 | 150 186 | 178 999 | 201 512 |
| Total Resources and Energy Exports | 194 607 | 179 007 | 190 323 | 190 859 | 166 131 | 175 645 | 213 046 | 257 607 |
| Total Merchandise Exports | 263 222 | 249 678 | 263 456 | 266 739 | 250 334 | 259 071 | 301 998 | 345 468 |
| Total Goods and Services Exports | 319 539 | 306 237 | 323 442 | 332 120 | 323 136 | 336 894 | 386 677 | 438 345 |
Notes
Total mineral exports includes: metallic minerals, energy minerals (coal and uranium), gemstones, mineral sands and refined minerals (concentrates, bullion, ingot metals)
Source
Office of the Chief Economist (Resources and Energy Quarterly December 2019).
Table 11. Australian export volumes and values of mineral and metal commodities 2018
| Commodity | Export volume | Unit | Export earnings ($million) | Value ($/t or $/c) |
Percentage of total mineral export earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aluminium—Bauxite | 31 512 | kt | 1308 | 42 | 0.6% |
| Aluminium—Alumina | 17 868 | kt | 10 357 | 580 | 5.1% |
| Aluminium—Ingot Metal | 1437 | kt | 4277 | 2976 | 2.1% |
| Black Coal—Metallurgical | 178 853 | kt | 41 244 | 231 | 20.5% |
| Black Coal—Thermal | 207 654 | kt | 25 605 | 123 | 12.7% |
| Copper—Ore and Concentrates | 2072 | kt | 6119 | 2953 | 3.0% |
| Copper—Refined | 354 | kt | 3155 | 8912 | 1.6% |
| Diamonds—Unsorted | 14 736 000 | c | 255 | 17 | 0.1% |
| Diamonds—Sorted Gem | 169 000 | c | 302 | 1787 | 0.1% |
| Gold—Refined | 341 | t | 18 856 | 55 296 188 | 9.4% |
| Iron—Ore | 834 553 | kt | 63 339 | 76 | 31.4% |
| Iron—Crude Steel | 1209 | kt | 1044 | 864 | 0.5% |
| Iron—Scrap | 2048 | kt | 1002 | 489 | 0.5% |
| Lead—Concentrates | 243 | kt | 590 | 2428 | 0.3% |
| Lead—Refined | 192 | kt | 587 | 3057 | 0.3% |
| Lead—Bullion | 109 | kt | 383 | 3514 | 0.2% |
| Nickel—Ore and Concentrates | 164 | kt | 259 | 1579 | 0.1% |
| Nickel—Refined and Intermediate | 234 | kt | 4027 | 17 205 | 2.0% |
| Silver—Refined | 286 | t | 194 | 678 322 | 0.1% |
| Tin—metal content | 6911 | t | 168 | 24 309 | 0.1% |
| Uranium—Oxide (U3O8) | 7272 | t | 635 | 87 321 | 0.3% |
| Zinc—Ore and Concentrates | 2017 | kt | 2477 | 1228 | 1.2% |
| Zinc—Refined | 418 | kt | 1675 | 4007 | 0.8% |
Notes
Total mineral export earnings in 2018 were $201 208 million (see Table 10).
Source
Office of the Chief Economist (Resource and Energy Quarterly December 2019).
Table 12. Changes in Australian minerals and metal export volumes, earnings and values from 2017 to 2018, along with percentage share of export earnings in 2017 and 2018
| Commodity | Export Volume (%) | Export Earnings (%) | Value (%) | Percentage of total mineral export earnings 2017 | Percentage of total mineral export earnings 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aluminium—Bauxite | 16% | 19% | 3% | 0.6% | 0.6% |
| Aluminium—Alumina | 0% | 38% | 38% | 4.2% | 5.1% |
| Aluminium—Ingot Metal | 10% | 27% | 15% | 1.9% | 2.1% |
| Black Coal—Metallurgical | 4% | 14% | 10% | 20.3% | 20.5% |
| Black Coal—Thermal | 4% | 23% | 19% | 11.6% | 12.7% |
| Copper—Ore and Concentrates | 17% | 28% | 9% | 2.7% | 3.0% |
| Copper—Refined | 0% | 11% | 11% | 1.6% | 1.6% |
| Diamonds—Unsorted | -9% | 1% | 11% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Diamonds—Sorted Gem | 145% | 7% | -56% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| Gold—Refined | 7% | 12% | 4% | 9.4% | 9.4% |
| Iron—Ore | 1% | 0% | -1% | 35.3% | 31.4% |
| Iron—Crude Steel | 25% | 13% | -9% | 0.5% | 0.5% |
| Iron—Scrap | 5% | 22% | 17% | 0.5% | 0.5% |
| Lead—Concentrates | 57% | 33% | -15% | 0.2% | 0.3% |
| Lead—Refined | -12% | -11% | 1% | 0.4% | 0.3% |
| Lead—Bullion | -14% | -22% | -9% | 0.3% | 0.2% |
| Nickel—Ore and Concentrates | -5% | -6% | -1% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| Nickel—Refined and Intermediate | -31% | -83% | -39% | 1.2% | 2.0% |
| Silver—Refined | -44% | -47% | -6% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| Tin—metal content | -1% | 1% | 2% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Uranium—Oxide (U3O8) | -2% | 7% | 9% | 0.3% | 0.3% |
| Zinc—Ore and Concentrates | 30% | 38% | 6% | 1.0% | 1.2% |
| Zinc—Refined | -4% | 3% | 7% | 0.9% | 0.8% |
Notes
See Table 10 for total mineral export earnings in 2017 and 2018. Value refers to $/unit of product, i.e. $/c for diamonds and $/t for all other commodities.
Source
Office of the Chief Economist (Resource and Energy Quarterly December 2019).