Australian Resource Reviews

Please note that this page is currently under review.

Publications on mineral resources in Australia covering resource estimates, industry developments, mine production and world rankings.

Antimony - Antimony is a silverly, lustrous grey metal that features highly on the critical minerals lists of many countries including Australia, Japan and the European Union.

Bauxite - Australia is the world's largest producer of bauxite and a significant global supplier of high value downstream products, including refined alumina and smelted aluminium metal.

Black Coal - In Australia, the term "black coal" includes anthracite, bituminous coal and sub-bituminous coal. Black coal occurs in all States and the Northern Territory.

Brown Coal - Australian brown coal or lignite is a low rank, low ash, high moisture content coal. Found in all Australian states, brown coal is primarily used to generate electricity in domestic power stations.

Gold - Australia has substantial gold resources which are located in all States and the Northern Territory. Gold attracts Australia's second largest exploration expenditure.

Graphite - Graphite is a soft, black, lustrous mineral composed of carbon in a hexagonal crystalline structure. As a good electrical conductor, graphite's use in modern technologies—particularly with increasing manufacture of batteries—is expected to increase.

Iron Ore - Iron constitutes about five per cent of the Earth's crust and is the fourth most abundant element in the crust. Australia is one of the world's major iron ore producers.

Lithium - Over recent years, Australia has been the world's largest producer of lithium and has significant resources of lithium minerals. Australia is well-placed to meet the projected increase in lithium demand due to its use in battery technologies.

Manganese Ore - Manganese is primarily used as an alloying agent in steel and is listed by many countries as a critical mineral, including Australia, Japan and the USA.

Minerals Sands - The principal components of heavy mineral sands are rutile (TiO₂), ilmenite (FeTiO₃), zircon (ZrSiO₄) and monazite ([Ce,La,Nd,Th]PO₄). These minerals are an important source of titanium and zircon.

Nickel - Nickel is malleable, lustrous metal primarily used as an alloying agent in stainless steel. Australia holds significant nickel resources and is well-positioned to meet increasing global demand given nickel's use in electric vehicle and battery technologies.

Niobium - Niobium is a soft, grey metal. Not found naturally in its elemental form, Niobium is most commonly found in combination with tantalum in the mineral columbite.

Rare Earth Elements - The rare earths are a relatively abundant group of elements which range in crustal abundance from cerium at 60 parts per million to lutetium at 0.5 parts per million.

Scandium - Scandium, commonly regarded as a rare earth element, is often associated with nickel and cobalt. Its use in modern technologies is expected to increase.

Tantalum - Tantalum is a hard, blue-grey metal that is highly resistant to corrosion. Tantalite is the most important tantalum ore mineral and large deposits of tantalum exist in Australia.

Tin - Primarily obtained from the mineral cassiterite, tin is a malleable and ductile, silvery-white metal that is resistant to corrosion and is often used as a protective coating on other metals.

Tungsten - Tungsten has the highest melting point of all pure metals and together with its alloys is amongst the hardest of all metals. Tungsten is found in Queensland, Tasmania, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

Vanadium - Vanadium is a soft, ductile, silver-grey metal that is used primarily to make metal alloys for high-strength steel production. Most of Australia's Economic Demonstrated Resources (EDR) of vanadium are in Western Australia.

Zinc-Lead-Silver - Zinc, lead and silver often occur together in mineral deposits. Australia attracts significant investment in zinc, lead and silver exploration making up around five per cent of all of Australia's mineral exploration each year.