australia's identified mineral resources 2005 - Geoscience Australia
australia's identified mineral resources 2005 - Geoscience Australia
australia's identified mineral resources 2005 - Geoscience Australia
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
AUSTRALIA’S IDENTIFIED MINERAL RESOURCES <strong>2005</strong><br />
World Ranking<br />
<strong>Australia</strong> has about 24% of the world’s recoverable brown coal EDR and is ranked number one in<br />
this category. Germany’s recoverable EDR have declined significantly from 43 Gt to 6.6 Gt in recent<br />
years – <strong>Australia</strong> produces about 8% of the world’s brown coal and is the fifth largest producer after<br />
Germany (22%), Russia (10%), USA (9%) and Greece (8%).<br />
Industry Developments<br />
CLP Power Asia, owner of the Yallourn mine and power station, is undertaking a $1 million<br />
feasibility study into building a coal gasification facility to provide fuel for a 500 MW power station.<br />
Construction of the plant could begin in 2006 if the feasibility study produced favourable results.<br />
In April 2004, the Loy Yang mine and power station was sold to the Great Energy Alliance<br />
Corporation, which is a joint venture of the <strong>Australia</strong>n Gas Light Company, Tokyo Electric Power<br />
Company and a group of investors led by the Commonwealth Bank of <strong>Australia</strong>. In October 2004,<br />
the Loy Yang mine reached a milestone with extraction of the 500 millionth cubic metre of material.<br />
The mine now extends 3.2 km by 2.1 km and at the deepest point is 180 m below ground level.<br />
In May 2004, International Power submitted an Environmental Effects Statement for the $380 million<br />
West Field development at the Hazelwood mine. International Power plan to extend the mines<br />
operation from 2009 to 2030 by relocating a section of the Strezlecki Highway, diverting the Morwell<br />
River and two creeks, and moving the town of Driffield and eleven families.<br />
Anglo American outlayed $52 million purchasing the remaining 80% of <strong>Australia</strong>n Power and Energy<br />
Ltd (APEL) it did not already own. APEL has exploration tenements over the 3 Gt Flynn coal deposit<br />
near Traralgon. Scoping studies indicate that 62 000 bpd of diesel can be produced in a two stage<br />
processing plant costing up to $5.5 billion. The 220 MW’s of electricity generated by the plant would<br />
be needed in the manufacturing process.<br />
The Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Clean Power from Lignite successfully trailed a process<br />
for drying brown coal, which can reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power stations by a third or<br />
more. The CRC’s Mechanical Thermal Expression (MTE) technology removes more than 70% of water<br />
from brown coal. The next stage is to build a $6.3 million pilot plant in the La Trobe Valley with<br />
construction planned for late <strong>2005</strong> and testing to start in early 2006. The pilot plant would process<br />
up to 15 t of brown coal per hour.<br />
The Victorian Department of Primary Industries is undertaking a study into the development of the<br />
La Trobe Valley brown coal <strong>resources</strong> over the period to year 2100. The study, ‘La Trobe Valley Coal<br />
Resources 2100’, will consider the interplay between the future mining infrastructure, the community<br />
and the environment over the next 100 years.<br />
26<br />
Copper<br />
<strong>Australia</strong> is a major copper producer with mining and smelting operations at Olympic Dam (SA)<br />
and Mt Isa (Qld). Other copper mines include Northparkes, Tritton (NSW), Ernest Henry, Osborne,<br />
Mt Gordon (Qld), Nifty, Golden Grove (WA) and Mt Lyell (Tas). Copper and copper alloys are used<br />
in building construction, electrical equipment such as electrical cables, and industrial machinery<br />
and equipment.<br />
Resources<br />
<strong>Australia</strong>’s EDR rose by 2 Mt to slightly more than 42 Mt of copper, an increase of 5%. South <strong>Australia</strong><br />
has the largest EDR, which increased by 4% in 2004 and is now around 60% of the national total.<br />
The majority of these <strong>resources</strong> are associated with the Olympic Dam deposit where EDR increased<br />
by just over 1.5 Mt following development drilling at the main deposit and the use of a 29% higher<br />
long-term price for uranium in resource calculations. Queensland has the second largest EDR with<br />
21% of the national total, followed by Western <strong>Australia</strong> (8%) and New South Wales (6%). An increase<br />
in EDR for Queensland of 16% (1.2 Mt) relates mostly to the results of the Mt Isa Open Pit prefeasibility<br />
study undertaken over the last two years.