Springfield, New South Wales, Australia, 23 June 2016. Boco Rock Wind Farm is situated on ridgelines at the South of New South Wales. The 67 wind turbines generate about 110MW of renewable energy per year. The tower is about 65m high and the blades are 35m long. Wind farm play an important role to reduce greenhouse gaz emissions. Its position on the ridge allows constant wind for a maximum of efficiency.

Appendices

Appendix 1: JORC Code

The following terminology and definitions are used by the Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) Code for reporting of Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (2012 Edition). A full copy of the JORC Code can be found at www.jorc.org.

Mineral Resource: A ‘Mineral Resource’ is a concentration or occurrence of solid material of economic interest in or on the Earth’s crust in such form, grade (or quality), and quantity that there are reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction. The location, quantity, grade (or quality), continuity and other geological characteristics of a Mineral Resource are known, estimated or interpreted from specific geological evidence and knowledge, including sampling. Mineral Resources are sub-divided, in order of increasing geological confidence, into Inferred, Indicated and Measured categories.

Inferred Mineral Resource: An ‘Inferred Mineral Resource’ is that part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity and grade (or quality) are estimated on the basis of limited geological evidence and sampling. Geological evidence is sufficient to imply but not verify geological and grade (or quality) continuity. It is based on exploration, sampling and testing information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes. An Inferred Mineral Resource has a lower level of confidence than that applying to an Indicated Mineral Resource and must not be converted to an Ore Reserve. It is reasonably expected that the majority of Inferred Mineral Resources could be upgraded to Indicated Mineral Resources with continued exploration.

Indicated Mineral Resource: An ‘Indicated Mineral Resource’ is that part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity, grade (or quality), densities, shape and physical characteristics are estimated with sufficient confidence to allow the application of Modifying Factors in sufficient detail to support mine planning and evaluation of the economic viability of the deposit. Geological evidence is derived from adequately detailed and reliable exploration, sampling and testing gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes, and is sufficient to assume geological and grade (or quality) continuity between points of observation where data and samples are gathered. An Indicated Mineral Resource has a lower level of confidence than that applying to a Measured Mineral Resource and may only be converted to a Probable Ore Reserve.

Measured Resource: A ‘Measured Mineral Resource’ is that part of a Mineral Resource for which quantity, grade (or quality), densities, shape, and physical characteristics are estimated with confidence sufficient to allow the application of Modifying Factors to support detailed mine planning and final evaluation of the economic viability of the deposit. Geological evidence is derived from detailed and reliable exploration, sampling and testing gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes, and is sufficient to confirm geological and grade (or quality) continuity between points of observation where data and samples are gathered. A Measured Mineral Resource has a higher level of confidence than that applying to either an Indicated Mineral Resource or an Inferred Mineral Resource. It may be converted to a Proved Ore Reserve or under certain circumstances to a Probable Ore Reserve.

Modifying Factors: ‘Modifying Factors’ are considerations used to convert Mineral Resources to Ore Reserves. These include, but are not restricted to, mining, processing, metallurgical, infrastructure, economic, marketing, legal, environmental, social and governmental factors.

Ore Reserve: An ‘Ore Reserve’ is the economically mineable part of a Measured and/or Indicated Mineral Resource. It includes diluting materials and allowances for losses, which may occur when the material is mined or extracted and is defined by studies at Pre-Feasibility or Feasibility level as appropriate that include application of Modifying Factors. Such studies demonstrate that, at the time of reporting, extraction could reasonably be justified.

Probable Ore Reserve: A ‘Probable Ore Reserve’ is the economically mineable part of an Indicated, and in some circumstances, a Measured Mineral Resource. The confidence in the Modifying Factors applying to a Probable Ore Reserve is lower than that applying to a Proved Ore Reserve.

Proved Ore Reserve: A ‘Proved Ore Reserve’ is the economically mineable part of a Measured Mineral Resource. A Proved Ore Reserve implies a high degree of confidence in the Modifying Factors.

Appendix 2: National Classification System

The following terminology and definitions are used in Australia’s National Classification System for Identified Mineral Resources.

Resource: A concentration of naturally occurring solid, liquid, or gaseous materials in or on the Earth’s crust and in such form that its economic extraction is presently or potentially (within a 20-25 year timeframe) feasible.

Identified Resource: A specific body of mineral-bearing material whose location, quantity and quality are known from specific measurements or estimates from geological evidence for which economic extraction is presently or potentially (within a 20-25 year timeframe) feasible.

To reflect degrees of geological assurance, Identified Resources can be divided into Measured Resources, Indicated Resources and Inferred Resources where Measured Resources have the most geological confidence and Inferred Resources the least. The National Classification System’s definitions for Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resources are consistent with those of the JORC Code.

Under the JORC Code, with the application of Modifying Factors and mine planning, Measured Resources can be converted into Proved Ore Reserves or Probable Ore Reserves and Indicated Resources can be converted into Probable Ore Reserves.

Demonstrated Resource: A collective term for the sum of Measured and Indicated Resources, including Proved and Probable Ore Reserves.

Economic: This term implies that, at the time of determination, profitable extraction or production under defined investment assumptions has been established, analytically demonstrated, or assumed with reasonable certainty.

Economic Demonstrated Resource (EDR): A Demonstrated Resource that is regarded as economic under the definition above. The EDR category provides a long-term view of what is likely to be available for mining (potential supply). It does not include Inferred Resources which do not have enough geological confidence to support mine planning. For shorter-term, commercial viewpoints of the economic category see Table 1 (Ore Reserves and Mineral Resources at Operating Mines) and Table 2 (Australia's Ore Reserves).

Subeconomic: This term refers to those resources that are geologically demonstrated but which do not meet the criteria of Economic at the time of determination. Subeconomic Resources include paramarginal and submarginal categories:

  • Paramarginal: That part of Subeconomic Resources which, at the time of determination, could be produced given postulated limited increases in commodity prices or cost-reducing advances in technology. The main characteristics of this category are economic uncertainty and/or failure (albeit just) to meet the criteria of economic.
  • Submarginal: That part of Subeconomic Resources that would require a substantially higher commodity price or major cost-reducing advance in technology to render them economic.

Accessible Economic Demonstrated Resource (AEDR): Some resources have enough geological confidence to be considered a Demonstrated Resource and, in normal circumstances, would also be regarded as economic but they are not currently available for development because of legal and/or land-use restrictions. They are included in EDR but not in AEDR.

Appendix 3: Additional Tables

Table 7. Comparisons of EDR of major commodities at Australian mines to total EDR as at December 2021.

CommodityUnitEDRNumber ofPercentage of EDR
Deposits with EDROperating MinesAll MinesOperating MinesAll MinesOther Deposits
BauxiteMt3,5322081080%81%19%
Black Coal – RecoverableMt75,4332749111946%52%48%
Cobaltkt Co1,582795616%16%84%
CopperMt Cu100.07196334681%83%17%
Goldt Au11,98070416223670%74%26%
Iron OreMt56,64687446454%64%36%
LeadMt Pb35.9578162677%86%14%
Lithiumkt Li6,700114850%98%2%
Manganese OreMt27794567%70%30%
Mineral Sands
IlmeniteMt273.879111615%38%62%
RutileMt33.85881110%15%85%
ZirconMt78.680101413%38%62%
NickelMt Ni21.799132536%40%60%
Silverkt Ag94.27147274275%78%22%
Uraniumkt U1,227322381%82%18%
ZincMt Zn66.2589182686%88%12%

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

Notes
All Mines = mines that are currently operating, placed on care and maintenance or under development.
'Deposits with EDR’ is inclusive of the mines.
Previous editions of this table have included diamond. However, with the closure of the Argyle mine, Australia no longer has any operating diamond mines.

Table 8. Comparisons of Ore Reserves of major commodities to total EDR and AEDR as at December 2021.

CommodityUnitOre ReservesEDRAEDROre Reserves/EDR (%)Ore Reserves/AEDR (%)
BauxiteMt1,5603,5653,56544%44%
Black Coal – RecoverableMt16,24375,43374,77522%22%
Cobaltkt Co6131,5821,58239%39%
CopperMt Cu23.70100.07100.0724%24%
Goldt Au4,50211,98011,95338%38%
Iron OreMt23,03456,64656,64641%41%
LeadMt Pb10.0835.9535.9528%28%
Lithiumkt Li4,5636,7006,70068%68%
Manganese OreMt12027727743%43%
Mineral Sands
IlmeniteMt70.7273.8263.926%27%
RutileMt11.433.831.234%36%
ZirconMt29.278.67637%38%
NickelMt Ni8.721.721.740%40%
Silverkt Ag24.0694.2794.2726%26%
Uraniumkt U2531,2271,22421%21%
ZincMt Zn19.2866.2566.2529%29%

Abbreviations
t = tonne; kt = kilotonnes (1,000 t); Mt = million tonnes (1,000,000 t).
Where an element symbol follows the unit it refers to contained metal content.
EDR = Economic Demonstrated Resources.
AEDR = Accessible Economic Demonstrated Resources.

Notes
Previous editions of this table have included diamond. However, with the closure of the Argyle mine, Australia no longer has any operating diamond mines.

Table 9. Distribution of EDR of major commodities in Australia as at December 2021.

CommodityUnitEDR Number of Percentage of EDR in largest
Deposits Deposits with EDR 10 deposits 20 deposits
Bauxite Mt 3,565 40 20 (50%) 98 100
Black Coal – Recoverable Mt 75,433 360 274 (76%) 29 41
Cobalt kt Co 1,582 155 79 (51%) 66 81
Copper Mt Cu 100.07 368 196 (53%) 83 90
Gold t Au 11,980 1,312 704 (54%) 50 60
Iron Ore Mt 56,646 281 87 (31%) 68 86
Lead Mt Pb 35.95 155 78 (50%) 87 94
Lithium kt Li 6,700 16 11 (69%) 100 100
Manganese Ore Mt 277 44 9 (20%) 100 100
Mineral Sands
Ilmenite Mt 273.8 178 79 (44%) 65 81
Rutile Mt 33.8 161 58 (36%) 68 88
Zircon Mt 78.6 179 80 (45%) 73 90
Nickel Mt Ni 21.7 181 99 (55%) 65 85
Silver kt Ag 94.27 260 147 (57%) 72 85
Uranium kt U 1,227 96 32 (33%) 95 99
Zinc Mt Zn 66.25 170 66 (39%) 86 92

Abbreviations
t = tonne; kt = kilotonnes (1,000 t); Mt = million tonnes (1,000,000 t).
Where an element symbol follows the unit it refers to contained metal content.
EDR = Economic Demonstrated Resources.

Notes
For classification as a mineral deposit there must be, at a minimum, an Inferred Resource compliant with the JORC Code (or equivalent) or, in some cases, a historical (pre-JORC) resource estimate.

Table 10. Export value ($million) of mineral commodities, resources and energy, merchandise and goods and services, 2012 to 2021.

Category2012201320142015201620172018201920202021
Total Mineral Exports149,879162,572158,312140,885150,186178,999201,208233,772231,233295,088
Total Resources and Energy Exports179,007190,323190,859166,131175,645213,046257,304296,859278,248359,988
Total Merchandise Exports249,678263,456266,739250,334259,071301,998345,468390,579364,472460,114
Total Goods and Services Exports306,237323,442333,120323,136336,894386,677438,284492,684436,302519,512

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 2022).

Table 11. Australian export volume and values of mineral and metal commodities 2021.

Commodity Export volume Unit Export earnings ($million) Value
($/t or $/c)
Percentage of total mineral export earnings
Aluminium – Bauxite 35,392 kt 1,266 36 0.4%
Aluminium – Alumina 18,383 kt 7,769 423 2.6%
Aluminium – Ingot Metal 1,369 kt 4,683 3,421 1.6%
Black Coal – Metallurgical 166,993 kt 36,840 221 12.5%
Black Coal – Thermal 198,789 kt 26,665 134 9.0%
Copper – Ore and Concentrates 1,640 kt 7,717 4,705 2.6%
Copper – Refined 371 kt 4,312 11,625 1.5%
Diamonds – Unsorted 30,833 c 0.3 11 minor
Diamonds – Sorted Gem 38,538 c 232 6,011 0.1%
Gold – Refined 257 t 23,281 90,539,864 7.9%
Iron – Ore 871,257 kt 154,656 178 52.4%
Iron – Crude Steel 688 kt 810 1,178 0.3%
Iron – Scrap 2,012 kt 1,200 597 0.4%
Lead – Concentrates 333 kt 936 2,813 0.3%
Lead – Refined 119 kt 356 2,983 0.1%
Lead – Bullion 183 kt 653 3,576 0.2%
Nickel – Ore and Concentrates 204 kt 575 2,812 0.2%
Nickel – Refined and Intermediate 128 kt 2,954 23,068 1.0%
Silver – Refined 274 t 308 1,123,263 0.1%
Tin – concentrate 15,610 t 329 21,084 0.1%
Uranium – Oxide (U3O8) 5,699 t 459 80,540 0.2%
Zinc – Ore and Concentrates 2,103 kt 2,570 1,222 0.9%
Zinc – Refined 405 kt 1,486 3,670 0.5%

Notes
Total mineral exports earnings in 2021 were $295,088 million (see Table 10).

Source
Office of the Chief Economist (Resources and Energy Quarterly September 2022).

Table 12. Changes in Australian mineral and metal export volumes, earnings and values from 2020 to 2021, along with percentage share of export earnings in 2020 and 2021.

Commodity Export volume (%) Export earnings (%) Value (%) Percentage of total mineral export earnings 2020 Percentage of total mineral export earnings 2021
Aluminium – Bauxite -5% -15% -10% 0.6% 0.4%
Aluminium – Alumina 1% 11% 10% 3.0% 2.6%
Aluminium – Ingot Metal -3% 31% 34% 1.5% 1.6%
Black Coal – Metallurgical -3% 38% 41% 11.6% 12.5%
Black Coal – Thermal <1% 60% 62% 7.2% 9.0%
Copper – Ore and Concentrates -6% 8% 15% 3.1% 2.6%
Copper – Refined -6% 26% 35% 1.5% 1.5%
Diamonds – Unsorted -100% -100% -22% 0.1% minor
Diamonds – Sorted Gem -2% -10% -8% 0.1% 0.1%
Gold – Refined -16% -9% 9% 11.0% 7.9%
Iron – Ore <1% 32% 32% 50.5% 52.4%
Iron – Crude Steel -23% -13% 13% 0.4% 0.3%
Iron – Scrap <1% 25% 25% 0.4% 0.4%
Lead – Concentrates 5% 16% 10% 0.4% 0.3%
Lead – Refined -14% -32% -21% 0.2% 0.1%
Lead – Bullion 16% 75% 51% 0.2% 0.2%
Nickel – Ore and Concentrates -7% 27% 38% 0.2% 0.2%
Nickel – Refined and Intermediate 9% 30% 20% 1.0% 1.0%
Silver – Refined 13% 39% 22% 0.1% 0.1%
Tin – concentrate 4% 88% 81% 0.1% 0.1%
Uranium – Oxide (U3O8) -19% -40% -26% 0.3% 0.2%
Zinc – Ore and Concentrates -6% 33% 42% 0.8% 0.9%
Zinc – Refined -8% 16% 26% 0.6% 0.5%