australia's identified mineral resources 2005 - Geoscience Australia

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