australia's identified mineral resources 2005 - Geoscience Australia
australia's identified mineral resources 2005 - Geoscience Australia
australia's identified mineral resources 2005 - Geoscience Australia
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AUSTRALIA’S IDENTIFIED MINERAL RESOURCES <strong>2005</strong><br />
■<br />
Westralia Iron and Steel Corporation Ltd has proposed a 1.5 Mpta pig iron plant for Collie in<br />
Western <strong>Australia</strong>.<br />
■<br />
Aviva Corporation is proposing to construct a DRI plant at Geraldton based on coal from Eneabba<br />
and iron ore from the Mid-West Region of Western <strong>Australia</strong><br />
Lithium<br />
Lithium is a silvery grey metal with a density about half that of water. Sons of Gwalia’s Greenbushes<br />
mine in Western <strong>Australia</strong> is the world’s second largest producer of lithium <strong>mineral</strong>s. Greenbushes<br />
products have a range of uses that include production of specialty glasses, ceramics and ceramic<br />
glazes, glass bottles. Its ore (predominantly spodumene Li 2 O.Al 2 O 3 .4SiO 2 ) is also a feedstock for<br />
the production of lithium carbonate in the chemical industry.<br />
Resources<br />
All of <strong>Australia</strong>’s lithium <strong>resources</strong> are in Western <strong>Australia</strong> and the Greenbushes deposit, the world’s<br />
largest and highest grade spodumene deposit, in the southwest of the state accounts for all EDR.<br />
EDR increased marginally in 2004 to 170 000 t, due mainly to a reassessment of <strong>resources</strong>. Other<br />
resource classifications remained unchanged.<br />
Exploration<br />
There are no statistics available on exploration expenditure for lithium. With continuing world<br />
oversupply of lithium, particularly in the form of lithium-rich brines notably from Chile, as well as<br />
increased resource definition at Greenbushes, substantial exploration expenditure in <strong>Australia</strong> is<br />
unlikely in the near future.<br />
Production<br />
Chile is the largest producer of lithium <strong>mineral</strong>s in 2004, followed by China and potentially <strong>Australia</strong>.<br />
The supply of lithium carbonate from brine operations in Chile and Argentina, along with increased<br />
production in China, is continuing to impact negatively on the price and supply of lithium <strong>mineral</strong>s<br />
on the world markets.<br />
World Resources<br />
According to estimates published by the USGS, Chile holds approximately 73% of the world’s lithium<br />
<strong>resources</strong> followed by China with 13%, Brazil with 4.5% and <strong>Australia</strong> with just over 4%. Resource data<br />
are not available for some important producing countries including Argentina and Russia. Lithium<br />
<strong>resources</strong> occur in two distinct categories – lithium <strong>mineral</strong>s and lithium-rich brines. Lithium brine<br />
<strong>resources</strong>, now the dominant feedstock for lithium carbonate production, are produced dominantly<br />
by Chile. Canada, China and <strong>Australia</strong> have the most significant <strong>resources</strong> of lithium <strong>mineral</strong>s.<br />
44<br />
World production of lithium in 2004 from <strong>Geoscience</strong> <strong>Australia</strong> and USGS data is estimated to be<br />
15 500 t of contained lithium, a slight increase since 2003. Chile with production of 41% remained the<br />
world’s largest producer, followed by China (17%), <strong>Australia</strong> (10% for half year), and Argentina (8%).<br />
Information on US and Russian production is not published by the USGS for commercial reasons.<br />
Industry Developments<br />
Sons of Gwalia went into receivership in 2004. Production of lithium from Greenbushes, however,<br />
is expected to continue.