Value of Australian Mineral Exports
In 2019, Australian mineral exports (excluding petroleum products) amounted to approximately $234 billion, which was slightly less than 60% of all export merchandise and 47% of all exported goods and services (Table 10). Domestically, mining industries accounted for 12% of gross domestic product in the 2019 calendar year. Table 10 also shows that mineral export earnings in 2019 were up 16% on 2018, continuing the gains seen since the low of 2015. Prior to this, the Australian economy was subject to large price falls for many mineral commodities, particularly iron ore and coal, following the global financial crisis.
Quarterly reports published by the Office of the Chief Economist show that the main mineral export earners in 2019 were iron ore (41.1% of total mineral export earnings), black coal (27.4%), gold (10.0%), copper (4.3%), bauxite-alumina-aluminium (6.0%), nickel (1.8%) and zinc (1.6%; Table 11). These same minerals were the main income earners in the previous year (Table 12).
Significant increases in export earnings of greater than 20% were recorded in 2019 by bauxite, copper (refined), diamonds (gem), gold, iron ore, lead (concentrates) and nickel (ore and concentrates) (Table 12). The increased export earnings for bauxite, copper (refined) and nickel (ore and concentrates) generally correlated with increased export volumes (Table 12). In contrast, increased export earnings for diamonds (gem), gold and iron ore in 2019 were the result of higher prices as there were no significant changes in export volume for gold and iron ore and diamond exports actually fell more than 50% from 2018 levels.
The lead (concentrates) and nickel (ore and concentrates) sectors experienced the most significant gains in 2019 with lead concentrates showing a 70% increase in export volume and a massive 63% increase in export earnings despite the unit value falling 4% (Table 12). Nickel ores and concentrates had a 57% increase in export volume for an overall 72% increase in export earning on the back of a 10% increase in unit value (Table 12).
Copper, gold, nickel and uranium also recorded increased volumes and increased export earnings due to price rises (Table 12). For example, refined copper was up 15% by volume compared to 2018 but also had a 22% increase in export earnings. In contrast, tin prices in 2019 were down by 47% and it was only a massive 110% increase in export volume that prevented export earnings from decreasing compared to 2018 (Table 12). Iron ore export volume was virtually unchanged from 2018 but had a 52% increase in export earning thanks to a matching increase in unit, value from $76/t in 2018 to $115/t in 2019.
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 2019, for example, was worth $40/t whereas alumina was worth $478/t (Table 11). This is a 12-fold increase on the price of bauxite; 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 $2,699/t in 2019 (Table 11). This is a 6-fold increase on the price of alumina and a massive 67-fold increase on the price of bauxite. Similar value adding is seen in the copper, iron, nickel and zinc sector and, to a lesser extent, in the lead sector. Thus any appraisal of the strength of Australia’s minerals industry must also include domestic downstream processes, such as refining and smelting, in addition to mineral discovery, mining and raw material exports.
Table 10. Export value ($million) of mineral commodities, resources and energy, merchandise and goods and services, 2011 to 2019.
| Category | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Mineral Exports | 167,867 | 149,879 | 162,572 | 158,312 | 140,885 | 150,186 | 178,999 | 201,208 | 233,772 |
| Total Resources and Energy Exports | 194,607 | 179,007 | 190,323 | 190,859 | 166,131 | 175,645 | 213,046 | 257,304 | 296,859 |
| Total Merchandise Exports | 26,222 | 249,678 | 263,456 | 266,739 | 250,334 | 259,071 | 301,998 | 345,468 | 390,579 |
| Total Goods and Services Exports | 319,539 | 306,237 | 323,442 | 33,120 | 323,136 | 336,894 | 386,677 | 438,284 | 492,684 |
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 September 2020).
Table 11. Australian export volumes and values of mineral and metal commodities 2019.
| Commodity | Export volume | Unit | Export earnings ($million) | Value ($/t or $/c) |
Percentage of total mineral export earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aluminium | |||||
| Bauxite | 39,149 | kt | 1,577 | 40 | 0.7% |
| Alumina | 17,764 | kt | 8,488 | 478 | 3.6% |
| Ingot Metal | 1,445 | kt | 3,900 | 2,699 | 1.7% |
| Black Coal | |||||
| Metallurgical | 184,355 | kt | 41,280 | 224 | 17.7% |
| Thermal | 212,275 | kt | 22,660 | 107 | 9.7% |
| Copper | |||||
| Ore and Concentrates | 1,895 | kt | 6,265 | 3,306 | 2.7% |
| Refined | 407 | kt | 3,839 | 9,436 | 1.6% |
| Diamonds | |||||
| Unsorted | 13,148,886 | c | 234 | 18 | 0.1% |
| Sorted Gem | 71,315 | c | 379 | 5,318 | 0.2% |
| Gold– Refined | 362 | t | 23,372 | 64,652,504 | 10.0% |
| Iron | |||||
| Ore | 835,546 | kt | 96,183 | 115 | 41.1% |
| Crude Steel | 1,148 | kt | 1,230 | 1,072 | 0.5% |
| Scrap | 2,224 | kt | 1,031 | 464 | 0.4% |
| Lead | |||||
| Concentrates | 414 | kt | 962 | 2,322 | 0.4% |
| Refined | 117 | kt | 332 | 2,827 | 0.1% |
| Bullion | 119 | kt | 386 | 3,246 | 0.2% |
| Nickel | |||||
| Ore and Concentrates | 258 | kt | 446 | 1,733 | 0.2% |
| Refined and Intermediate | 241 | kt | 3,679 | 15,235 | 1.6% |
| Silver – Refined | 140 | t | 125 | 893,432 | 0.1% |
| Tin – concentrate | 14,520 | t | 188 | 12,963 | 0.1% |
| Uranium – Oxide (U3O8) | 8,159 | t | 747 | 91,516 | 0.3% |
| Zinc | |||||
| Ore and Concentrates | 2,310 | kt | 2,401 | 1,039 | 1.0% |
| Refined | 379 | kt | 1,426 | 3,757 | 0.6% |
Notes
Total mineral exports earnings in 2019 were $233,772 million (see Table 10).
Source
Office of the Chief Economist (Resources and Energy Quarterly September 2020).
Table 12. Changes in Australian mineral and metal export volumes, earnings and values from 2018 to 2019, along with percentage share of export earnings in 2018 and 2019.
| Commodity | Export Volume (%) | Export Earnings (%) | Value (%) | Percentage of total mineral export earnings 2018 | Percentage of total mineral export earnings 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aluminium | |||||
Bauxite |
24% | 21% | -3% | 0.7% | 0.7% |
| Alumina | -1% | -18% | -18% | 5.1% | 3.6% |
| Ingot Metal | 1% | -9% | -9% | 2.1% | 1.7% |
| Black Coal | |||||
| Metallurgical | 3% | 0% | -3% | 20.5% | 17.7% |
| Thermal | 2% | -12% | -13% | 12.7% | 9.7% |
| Copper | |||||
| Ore and Concentrates | -9% | 2% | 12% | 3.0% | 2.7% |
| Refined | 15% | 22% | 6% | 1.6% | 1.6% |
| Diamonds | |||||
| Unsorted | -11% | -8% | 3% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Sorted Gem | -58% | 26% | 198% | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| Gold – Refined | 6% | 24% | 17% | 9.4% | 10.0% |
| Iron | |||||
| Ore | 0% | 52% | 52% | 31.5% | 41.1% |
| Crude Steel | -5% | 18% | 24% | 0.5% | 0.5% |
| Scrap | 9% | 3% | -5% | 0.5% | 0.4% |
| Lead | |||||
| Concentrates | 70% | 63% | -4% | 0.3% | 0.4% |
| Refined | -39% | -43% | -8% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| Bullion | 9% | 1% | -8% | 0.3% | 0.2% |
| Nickel | |||||
| Ore and Concentrates | 57% | 72% | 10% | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Refined and Intermediate | 3% | -9% | -11% | 2.0% | 1.6% |
| Silver - Refined | -51% | -36% | 32% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Tin – metal content | 110% | 12% | -47% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Uranium – Oxide (U3O8) | 12% | 18% | 5% | 0.3% | 0.3% |
| Zinc | |||||
| Ore and Concentrates | 15% | -3% | -15% | 1.2% | 1.0% |
| Refined | -9% | -15% | -6% | 0.8% | 0.6% |
Notes
For total mineral export earnings in 2018 and 2019 see Table 10. Value refers to $/unit of product, i.e. $/c for diamonds and $/t for all other commodities.
Source
Office of the Chief Economist (Resources and Energy Quarterly September 2020).
Banner image: Australia’s mineral resources are exported throughout the world. Mineral exports comprised 47% of Australia’s export income in 2019.