Peculiar conditions of the nature of Australia. Natural resources and conditions

Australia is rich in a variety of minerals. New discoveries of mineral ores made on the continent over the past 10-15 years have advanced the country to one of the first places in the world in terms of reserves and extraction of such minerals as iron ore, bauxite, lead-zinc ores.

The largest deposits of iron ore in Australia, which began to be developed since the 60s of our century, are located in the region of the Hamersley Range in the north-west of the country (the Mount Newman, Mount Goldsworth, etc. deposits). Iron ore there is also on the islands of Kulan and Kokatu in King's Bay (in the northwest), in the state of South Australia in the Middleback Range (Iron-Knob, etc.) and in Tasmania - the Savage River field (in the Savage river valley).

Large deposits of polymetals (lead, zinc mixed with silver and copper) are located in the western desert part of the state of New South Wales - the Broken Hill deposit. An important center for the extraction of non-ferrous metals (copper, lead, zinc) has developed near the Mount Isa deposit (in the state of Queensland). There are also deposits of polymetals and copper in Tasmania (Reed Rosebery and Mount Lyell), copper in Tennant Creek (Northern Territory) and elsewhere.

The main gold reserves are concentrated in the ledges of the Precambrian basement and in the southwest of the mainland (Western Australia), in the area of the cities of Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie, Northman and Wiluna, as well as in Queensland. Smaller deposits are found in almost all states.

Bauxites occur on the Cape York Peninsula (Waype Field) and Arnhem Land (Gow Field), as well as in the southwest, in the Darling Range (Jarradale Field).

Uranium deposits are found in various parts mainland: in the north (Arnhemland Peninsula) - near the rivers South and East Alligator, in the state of South Australia - near Lake. Frome, in the state of Queensland - the Mary-Katlin field and in the western part of the country - the Yillirri field.

The main deposits of coal are located in the eastern part of the mainland. The largest deposits of both coking and non-coking coal are developed near the cities of Newcastle and Lythgow (New South Wales) and the cities of Collinsville, Blair Atol, Bluff, Baralaba and Moura Kiang in Queensland.

Geological surveys have established that large deposits of oil and natural gas are located in the bowels of the Australian mainland and on the shelf off its coast. Oil is found and produced in the state of Queensland (the Mooney, Alton and Bennet fields), on Barrow Island off the northwestern coast of the mainland, and also on the continental shelf off south coast State of Victoria (Kingfish field). Deposits of gas (the largest Ranken field) and oil have also been discovered on the shelf off the northwestern shores of the mainland.

Australia has large deposits of chromium (Queensland), Gingin, Dongara, Mandarra (Western Australia), Marlin (Victoria).

From non-metallic minerals, there are clays, sands, limestones, asbestos, and mica of various quality and industrial use.

The water resources of the continent itself are small, but the most developed river network is on the island of Tasmania. The rivers there have a mixed rain and snow supply and are full-flowing throughout the year. They flow down from the mountains and therefore are stormy, rapids and have large reserves of hydropower. The latter is widely used for the construction of hydroelectric power plants. The availability of cheap electricity contributes to the development of energy-intensive industries in Tasmania, such as the smelting of pure electrolyte metals, the manufacture of cellulose, etc.

The rivers flowing from the eastern slopes of the Great Dividing Range are short, in their upper reaches they flow in narrow gorges. Here they may well be used, and partly already used for the construction of hydroelectric power stations. When entering the coastal plain, the rivers slow down their flow, their depth increases. Many of them in the estuarine parts are even accessible to large ocean-going vessels. The Clarence River is navigable for 100 km from its mouth, and Hawkesbury for 300 km. The volume of runoff and the regime of these rivers are different and depend on the amount of precipitation and the time of their occurrence.

Australia is a federal state that is part of the Commonwealth, led by Great Britain. There are six states in the Commonwealth of Australia; New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania, and two territories, the Northern Territory and the Capital Territory.

The country is located in the Southern Hemisphere and occupies the territory of the entire Australian continent and the islands adjacent to it (Tasmania, King, Kangaroo, Flinders, Barrow, etc.). The area of Australia is 7.7 million square meters. km, population - 18.2 million people. The capital is Canberra. The official language is English. The majority of the population professes Christianity.

Australia is one of the economically developed countries world, but its economy is mainly characterized by a raw orientation. Australia plays a leading role in the international division of labor in the production and export of wheat, meat, sugar, wool, various types of minerals (bauxites, polymetals, iron ore, coal, etc.).

Geographical position. Distinctive feature geographic location of Australia - a significant distance from other continents. The country is surrounded on all sides by the waters of the World Ocean, its northern and eastern shores are washed by Pacific Ocean, western and southern - Indian.

Population. The main population of Australia is made up of Anglo-Australians (descendants of immigrants from Great Britain and Ireland) and immigrants from around the world. australian aborigines form less than 1% of the country's population .. The average population density of Australia is 2 people per 1 sq. km. km. Most of population (over 2/3 of the country's inhabitants) is concentrated in the eastern and south- east coast favorable in natural terms (here the density in some places reaches 10-50 people per 1 sq. km). The rest of the territory is sparsely populated.

Australia is one of the most urbanized countries in the world: more than 85% of its population are city dwellers. The largest cities are Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Newcastle. Almost all of them are ports.

natural conditions. The relief of Australia is predominantly flat. Mountains occupy less than 5% of the territory of this continent. The Dividing Range stretching along its eastern outskirts (the highest point is Mount Kosciuszko - 2230 m) does not present an insurmountable obstacle for economic development. The climate in most of Australia is unfavorable for Agriculture. A sufficient amount of precipitation (500 mm per year) falls only on the elevated eastern and southeastern margins of the mainland. Areas of vast deserts (they occupy 2/5 of the country's area) of Central and Western Australia have insufficient moisture and can only be used as pastures for sheep.

The river network is poorly developed. The only high-flowing Murray River with a tributary of the Darling.

economy. Among the industries, the most importance for the Australian economy has a mining, metallurgical and food industries. The products of these industries are not only widely used domestically, but also in in large numbers goes for export. Australia occupies a prominent place in the world in terms of reserves and production of bauxite, iron, lead, zinc, copper, manganese, tungsten and uranium ores, coal - site. Non-ferrous and ferrous metallurgy is closely connected with the mining industry, the main branches of which are the aluminum industry, the smelting of copper, tin, lead and zinc, special steels and alloys.

The leading branches of the food industry - meat, dairy, flour-grinding, sugar, fruit and vegetable canning - process local agricultural raw materials. The enterprises of these industries are mainly located in port cities in the southeast of the country (Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle, Adelaide).

Mechanical engineering (production of trucks and cars, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment, various instruments, etc.), oil refining, chemical (production of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers, plastics and chemical fibers, etc.) and light industry (production of footwear, fabrics and knitwear) in mostly of local importance.

Agriculture in Australia has a livestock bias. The leading branches of animal husbandry are sheep breeding and cattle breeding for meat and dairy. The country ranks first in the world in terms of the number of sheep, the production and export of wool, lamb, beef and veal. Horse breeding, camel breeding and poultry breeding are developed. In connection with the livestock orientation of agriculture in general, the cultivation of fodder crops is of great importance in crop production (up to 49% of the arable land is occupied).

Australia's main export crops are wheat, sugarcane, and cotton. The main area of their cultivation is the east and southeast of the country. Australia is one of the world's leading producers and exporters of wheat. Important branches of crop production are horticulture, viticulture, and vegetable growing.

Transport. In the transportation of goods, the role (up to half of the cargo turnover) of maritime transport, passengers - automobile and aviation, is great. The length of the railways is small. internal water transport almost not.

The main export items are mineral raw materials (iron ore, coal, bauxite, etc.) and agricultural products (wool, wheat, meat, sugar). Australia imports mainly manufactured goods. internal differences. Different parts of the territory of Australia differ in the level of development and specialization of the economy.

There are four economic regions:

1 . Southeast (includes the states of New South Wales, Victoria and the southeast of South Australia, the territory of the federal capital) is the leading region of the country. More than 70% of the population, about 80% of manufacturing products, almost half of mining, more than half of agriculture, and about the same length of railways are concentrated on its relatively small territory (20% of the country's area). Here are the largest centers of Australia - Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide.

2 . Northeast (Queensland with the administrative center Brisbane) is distinguished by the cultivation of sugar cane and tropical fruit crops (bananas, papaya, pineapples, etc.), the cultivation of large cattle(half of the country's livestock), the production of meat, sugar, bauxite and alumina, oil production.

3 . West Central (covers the states of South (except the southeast) and Western Australia and the Northern Territory) - the largest in area (half of the country's territory) and the driest (here are the Great Sandy Desert, the Gibson Desert and the Great Victoria Desert), the least populated (a tenth of the country's population lives) and the economically developed region of the country - the site. It stands out for the mining industry (it occupies a leading place in the country in the extraction of gold, iron ore, nickel, copper, uranium, manganese) and agriculture (production of wheat, oats, barley, cotton; extensive beef cattle breeding). Large centers are Perth (Western Australia) and Darwin (Northern Territory).

4 . Tasmania, due to its insular position, favorable climate (warm, even, humid), wealth of water resources and minerals (copper, tin, tungsten, zinc, iron ore, coal, etc.), is an area of developed tourism and agriculture (vegetables, fruits, dairy farming), hydropower and non-ferrous metallurgy (production of copper, aluminum, zinc, etc.). The main center of the district and the administrative center of the state of Tasmania is Hobart.

Australia is the driest continent on earth. He is all in southern hemisphere. This determines the natural conditions and resources of Australia.

Natural conditions and resources of Australia: climate

For the reasons mentioned above, the seasons in Australia are the opposite of those in the northern hemisphere, being hot from November to January and cool from June to August.

The climate in Australia has sharp differences in its different parts. Its northern part, humid and hot, is replaced by semi-desert regions, and the coasts (southeast and south) belong to the subtropical zone, so the climate here is warm and pleasant.

Natural conditions and resources of Australia: relief

The terrain in Australia is mostly flat. From the Cape York Peninsula stretches in the east of the country to Bass Strait dividing ridge, and it continues on the island of Tasmania. The highest point in Australia is Mount Kosciuszko (2228 m).

In the west of the country you will find four deserts: the Great Victoria Desert, the Simpso Desert, the Gibson Desert, and the Great Sandy Desert.

Australia attracts tourists from all over the world with its exoticism, unique flora and fauna, comfortable climate, endless beaches, cloudless skies and bright sun.

Natural conditions and resources: rivers

Few on the Australian mainland major rivers except for the island of Tasmania. main river Australia is the Murray with tributaries Goulburn, Murrumbidgee and Darling.

At the beginning of summer, these rivers are the most full-flowing, because. in the mountains are coming melting snow. They become very shallow during the hot season. Even the Darling, which is the longest in Australia, gets lost during a drought in the sands. Dams were built on almost all of the Murray's tributaries, and reservoirs used for irrigation were created near them.

Natural conditions and resources: lakes

The lakes of Australia are predominantly waterless basins. Rarely, when filled with water, they become silty, salty and shallow reservoirs.

The largest lakes in Australia include Lake Eyre, Gairdner, Garnpang, Amadius, Torrens, Mackay, Gordon. But here you can meet unique, simply amazing lakes.

For example, Lake Hillier, which is bright pink, is located on Middle Island. Even if you fill something with water from the lake, its color will not change. There are no algae in the lake, and scientists have not given an explanation for what exactly gives the lake such a pink color.

Or there is the luminous Jeepsland Lake. It is a complex of swamps and lakes located in the state of Victoria. Here, in 2008, a high concentration of microorganisms Noctiluca scintillans or Nightweed was observed.

For such a rare occurrence observed by photographer Phil Hart and locals. The “night light” glows when it reacts to stimuli, so the photographer threw stones into the water and teased them in every way to capture the glow, and at the same time also an unusual picture of the sky. However, the pictures turned out just wonderful.

Natural conditions and resources: forests

In Australia, forests occupy only 2% of the entire mainland area. But tropical rainforests, located along the shores of the Coral Sea, are unusual for Europeans and very picturesque.

Subantarctic and subtropical forests with huge ferns and eucalyptus trees are located in the east and south of the continent. In the west, "hard-leaved" evergreen savannah forests grow. Here you can find eucalyptus trees whose leaves are turned in such a way that they do not give shade.

About 500 species of different eucalyptus trees can be found in Australia, for example, blue eucalyptus trees in the Blue Mountains in the Thunder Valley.

The world's largest subtropical forests in terms of area rain forests, preserved from the time of Gondwana almost unchanged. Here you can see plants that have been growing since the time of the dinosaurs.

Here was once located big volcano who provided these lands with good soil. On the this moment the volcano was destroyed by erosion, but magnificent high waterfalls appeared. So in the Gondwana forests you will definitely find something to admire.

Rainforests between New Wales and Queensland are on the list world heritage UNESCO. Now this area includes 50 reserves.

Mineral resources

This is the main thing natural wealth Australia. Australia ranks first in the world in zirconium and bauxite reserves and second in uranium reserves.

Australia is one of the largest coal producers in the world. There are deposits of platinum in Tasmania. Gold deposits are located mainly in the southwest of Australia, near the cities of Northman, Coolgardie, Wiluna, Queensland. And there are small deposits of this valuable metal in almost all states of the continent. The state of New South Wales has diamonds, antimony, bismuth and nickel.

The state of South Australia is distinguished by the fact that opals are mined here, and even an entire underground city of Coober Pedy or Coober Pedy has been built. The mining town is located at the bottom of a dried-up ancient sea. Its inhabitants mine opals and live underground to escape the unbearable heat. They say here: "If you need a new house, dig it yourself!" underground city has shops and even an underground temple.

More articles in this category:

Mining Vedomosti

Pavel Lunyashin

Australia is the only state in the world that occupies an entire continent, while its population is only 23.6 million people (2014). With the second highest Human Development Index, Australia ranks high in many areas such as quality of life, health, education, economic freedom, civil liberties and political rights.
In 2013, the Fraser Institute, an independent Canadian market research organization, ranked Australia among the top 10 countries in the world in terms of attractiveness of mining policy and the index of geological attractiveness, and ranked the state of Western Australia in first place in terms of investment attractiveness. By the way, according to these indicators, Russia is in 91st, 67th and 86th places.
The US mining advisory agency Behre Dolbear, evaluating the ratings of mining countries, notes that Australia has taken the top line in this rating for the fourth year in a row. In terms of political and economic stability, Australia outperformed its closest competitors - Canada, Chile, Brazil and Mexico. Australia has the most short time required to obtain mining licenses, as well as a minimum level of corruption in the mining industry. In general, according to the agency, Australia is far ahead of other regions in terms of investment attractiveness in the mining sector. Russia is in last place in this ranking. Australia is the world's leading producer software mining operations.

Australian mining development
The earliest evidence of stone processing in Australia is from the Upper Paleolithic. An interesting feature of this region is that before the Europeans came to the continent in the 17th century, the use of mineral resources was practically absent. The mining industry originates in the 90s of the XVIII century, its appearance is associated with coal mining near Newcastle in New South Wales. In the 40s of the 19th century, deposits of copper and lead ores were discovered, in the 50s - gold. The latter led to a "gold rush" on the continent (especially in the state of Victoria), up to 150 thousand miners worked in the mines. In 1851 - 1865. deposits in the states of Victoria and New South Wales annually gave about 71 tons of gold. Copper was first mined in the Kapanda-Barra region of South Australia in the 1840s. In the 1860s, Australia became the 3rd largest copper mine in the world. At the same time, coal and iron ore deposits in New South Wales begin to be developed. In 1872-73. the country becomes the world's leading producer of tin, which was mined in Tasmania. In the late 1880s, Australia ranked first in the world with 11 thousand tons of tin per year. With the discovery of the rich silver deposits of Broken Hill in New South Wales in 1882, a "silver boom" began. At the end of the 19th century, as a result of the discovery of new deposits (Kalgoorlie, Kimberley, Mount Morgan), the gold mining industry was revived again. There are currently about 300 Australian gold mining campaigns registered in London.

In the 1910s, intensive brown coal mining began in the state of Victoria. For economic development Australia and, in particular, its mining industry, especially great importance had the creation of a single market after the formation of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901, the growth labor resources due to large-scale immigration after World War II; opening in Asia of new sales markets for Australian raw materials - iron ores, bauxites, coal, etc. Mineral exploration expanded from 1950, and important discoveries were made in the 1960s, especially in the Precambrian Shield of Western Australia and in sedimentary basins. The result was a giant mining boom for the first time since the gold rush of the 1850s. In 1960-2000 Mining in Australia has been constantly expanding. Financing of mining campaigns was carried out at the expense of the capitals of Japan, the USA and Great Britain, as well as Australia itself. The mining industry provides more than a third of the country's total industrial output and is export-oriented. Australian mineral raw materials are exported to more than 100 countries of the world, primarily to Asian countries.

Human Resources
More than 23.6 million people live in Australia. The share of foreign workers in the country is 25%, but despite this, in some regions there is a shortage of workers. This is due to the small population in a large area and the fact that the majority of the population lives on the east coast of Australia. Most of the major cities are in this area, and almost all skilled workers and engineers operate there. A lot of people from China, Vietnam, Korea work in the Western part of the country, and their number is growing rapidly. Also, the Australian government is actively recruiting residents of Central and of Eastern Europe. The most demanded specialists are in the fields of agriculture and mining. Australia is actively developing the tourism industry and is actively attracting workers from other countries to work in tourism. The British go to work in Australia most of all, there are many Russians and Ukrainians. IN major cities Australia (Sydney, Melbourne), there are entire neighborhoods in which Ukrainian diasporas live, working in the country. Australia is experiencing the largest influx of immigrants in the last 40 years and attracts workers from all over the world to the country, offering Better conditions work with the least load, favorable climate and low cost of living. Europe - in particular the UK - is the main source of immigrants to work in Australia. Under the current program, Australia offers immigrants professional immigration for 4 years, sponsored by the employer or the state, with the opportunity to stay in the country forever.

Mining and geological personnel are trained at 17 universities in all states of the country. The most famous of them are the universities of New South Wales (Sydney), Flinders (Adelaide), Macquarie (Sydney), Monash (Melbourne), the University of Western Australia, etc.
The median household income in Australia is A$67,000.

In 2010, the National Tribunal for labor relations(Fair Work Australia) raised the Australian minimum wage to A$570 per week or A$15 per hour. The official working week in Australia is 38 hours.

Natural resources
The main natural wealth of the country is mineral resources. Australia's endowment with natural resource potential is 20 times higher than the world average.
The country ranks 1st in the world in terms of reserves of gold, nickel, lead, zinc, uranium, and opals. The green continent contains 95% of the world's opal reserves, 40.4% of lead, 31.2% of uranium, 27% of zinc, and 26.7% of nickel. Australia ranks second in terms of bauxite reserves (22.2% of the world), copper (12.6% of the world) and cobalt (16.0%). There are significant reserves of silver, manganese, diamonds, coal, iron ore.
Total spending on mineral exploration was $3.656 billion in 2012, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Nickel
Australia ranks first in the world in terms of nickel reserves - 17.7 million tons. 37 copper-nickel sulfide deposits have been discovered here, which form the Western Australian nickel-bearing province. The ore bodies of most deposits are in the form of lenses and pillars. The average nickel content is 2.1%, but in some bodies it reaches 9.5%, and in poor ores that are being developed, it does not exceed 0.6%. About 88% of Australia's proven reserves are located in 15 fields. Western Australia retains the largest nickel resources with 96.0% of the total Australian reserves. Queensland is the second largest area with 3.8% followed by Tasmania with 0.2%. The main reserves of cobalt and platinum group metals are associated with nickel ores.
With nickel production of 244 thousand tons, the country is in 4th place in the world in 2012 (11.4%). Nickel reserves at current production rates will last for 31 years. In order to replenish reserves, intensive work is underway to explore nickel-cobalt ores, in 2012 they amounted to $ 235.7 million. The value of all exported nickel products amounted to $ 4.005 billion. Australia was the world "s fourth-largest nickel producer behind the Philippines, Indonesia and Russia accounting for 11.4% of estimated world mine production.

Gold
According to the State Geological Survey of Australia, in 2012, the reliable economic resources of gold, including reserves, amounted to 9909 tons, the estimated resources - 4542 tons. The subsoil of Western Australia is especially rich in gold, where 42% of reliable resources are localized. More than 600 deposits have been discovered in the country. Two thirds of them are small (with stocks up to 10 tons), almost a quarter are medium (up to 100 tons). The category of large and unique (from 100 to 2000 tons and more) includes 47 deposits, including the world-famous Kalgoorlie, Olympic Dam, Bendigo. About 70% of reliable resources are concentrated in 15 deposits, of which more than 50% are located in the four largest ones - Olympic Dam, Caydia East, Boddington and Telfer.
In 2012, 75 enterprises mined gold by opencast and underground mining. In terms of production (251 tons in 2012), Australia firmly ranks second in the world after China. The Perth Mint is the only gold refiner in Australia. It processes gold mined by domestic enterprises, buys secondary metal and receives raw materials for processing from abroad. The total production of refined gold in 2012 amounted to 309 tons, of which 282 tons were exported in the amount of $15.2 billion.

Gold exploration spending was $741 million, second only to iron ore exploration spending of $1,163 million. On a State-by-State basis, the greatest increase in expenditure on gold exploration was in WA with a $42 million, or an 8.4%, rise to $541 million. During last decade gold exploration spending remains relatively constant at $500-750 million Australian dollars.

It is noteworthy that alluvial gold in Australia has not yet dried up: numerous finds of large nuggets are known in the country. So, in March 2014, in the area of the town of Maldon (Victoria), a prospector who wished to remain anonymous, using a metal detector, found a nugget weighing 7.925 kg.

Domestic mine production fell by seven tons in 2012 to 251 tons, which was 11 tons less than the maximum of 261 tons in 2010 and about 60 tons lower than Australia's highest annual yield of about 310 tons in the late 1990's. Lead, zinc and silver
Australia ranks 1st in the world in terms of lead and zinc reserves, 4th in silver reserves and mining, and 2nd in terms of the production of the first two metals.
Large deposits of polymetals (lead, zinc mixed with silver and copper) are located in the western desert part of the state of New South Wales - the Broken Hill deposit. An important center for the extraction of non-ferrous metals has developed near the Mount Isa deposit (in the state of Queensland). There are also deposits of non-ferrous metals in Tasmania (Reed Rosebery and Mount Lyell), copper - in Tennant Creek (Northern Territory) and in other places. According to the Australian Bureau of Resources and Energy Economics (BREE), in 2012 Australian production of zinc, lead and silver amounted to 1.54 million tons, 0.62 million tons and 1.73 thousand tons, respectively. Most production was from Queensland (1007 kt or 65% of national zinc production, 440 kt (71% lead) and 1.39 kt (81% silver). Exports of zinc concentrates and refined zinc in 2012 amounted to $ 2178 million - 1% of the value of the country's total merchandise exports. Lead exports amounted to 688 thousand tons in the amount of $ 2080 million. Silver exports brought in $ 1678 million.

Copper
Australia ranks second in the world in terms of copper reserves (13%) after Chile (28%) and ahead of Peru (11%), USA (6%), Mexico (6%) and China, Russia, Indonesia, Poland with 4% each . Australian copper reserves amount to 91.1 million tons. 68% of the reserves are concentrated in South Australia. Nearly all of the reserves are associated with BHP Billiton Ltd's Olympic Dam field. In New South Wales - 13% of Australia's copper, 12% - in Queensland (mainly in the Mount Isa region).
As a producer, Australia ranks fifth in the world, with 5% of world copper production after Chile (32%), China (9%), Peru and the USA (both 7%). As a producer, Australia ranks fifth in the world, with 5% of global copper production behind Chile (32%), China (9%), Peru and the US (7% each). In 2012 production copper ore in Australia, copper amounted to 914 thousand tons. The main mining and metallurgical operations are carried out at the Olympic Dam deposits in South Australia and Mount Isa in Queensland. A significant amount of copper is produced in New South Wales, Western Australia and Tasmania. Most copper ore in Australia is mined underground. Export of copper ore in 2012 amounted to 946 thousand tons worth $ 8.1 billion - 3% of the value of all exports of goods. Expenses for copper exploration are growing - in 2012 compared to 2011 they increased by 4% to $414 million. Expenditure in SA of $146 million was 35% of all copper exploration.

Tungsten
Tungsten reserves in Australia in 2012 amounted to 391 thousand tons (11.2%, 2nd place in the world). Estimated resources - 102 thousand tons.

bauxites
Australia is the world's largest producer of bauxite, accounting for 29% of world production in 2012 (76.3 million tons). The production of alumina amounted to 21.4 million tons, aluminum - 1.9 million tons. In terms of reserves of this raw material (6281 million tons), the country is in second place in the world after Guinea. Off-balance bauxite resources are 1573 million tons and estimated - 1474 million tons. Laterite type bauxites in most cases occur on the surface, the thickness of the layers reaches 10 m. About 80% of all bauxite reserves are concentrated in 4 largest deposits in the west of the country - Weipa, , Cape Bougainville and Mitchell. In the extreme southwest is the large bauxite region of Darling Rodov. All deposits are developed without stripping. At current production rates, Australia has proven bauxite reserves for almost 100 years. In 2012, 18.3 million tons of alumina were exported, worth $5.152 billion. The average price was $282.0/tonne which was significantly lower than the 2011 price of $332.9/tonne.

Tin
In terms of tin reserves, Australia (277 thousand tons) ranks 8th in the world. It accounts for 5.6% of world reserves. Tin ores are located in the west (Mount Bischof) and northeast of the island of Tasmania, in the north of New South Wales, in the mountains of New England, and also in Queensland (Gilberton). Production of tin concentrate in 2012 amounted to 5800 tons (2.5% of world production, 7th place). Refined tin has not been produced in Australia since 2007 following the closure of the Greenbushes plant in Western Australia. The total export of tin for 2012 was 5706 tons worth $110 million.

Uranus
Uranium has been mined in Australia since 1954, and there are currently four mines operating in the country. More are planned to be built in the future. Today, Australia's uranium reserves are the largest in the world, accounting for 31.2% of the world's total. 30 large deposits of uranium ores are known. Most of them are located in the Alligator Rivers area. 75% of the country's uranium reserves and 17% of the world's reserves are concentrated here. The main deposits are Ranger, Kungarra, Jabiluka. Ores are characterized high quality, the content of U3O8 is on average 0.2-0.3%, the maximum content of U3O8 is 2.35% (Nabarlek deposit). In 2012, 8218 tons of U3O8 were mined in Australia. - this is 15.4% of world production (4th place in the world). All extracted raw materials are exported. Exports in 2012 amounted to 6969 tons of uranium (8218 tons of U 3 O 8) worth $ 696 million. Australian mining companies supplied uranium under long-term contracts to the USA, Japan, China, South Korea and Canada, as well as to the countries of the European Union. In 2010, the Australia-Russia nuclear cooperation agreement came into force, allowing the use of Australian uranium for Russian civilian nuclear facilities. A trial batch of uranium was delivered to Russia in 2012.

Iron ores
In terms of explored reserves of iron ore (44.7 billion tons), the country ranks 4th in the world, and if we talk not about ore, but actually about useful iron (20.6 billion tons), then it ranks third after Russia and Brazil. The largest deposits of iron ore, which began to be developed in the 60s of the XX century, are located in the Hamersley Range in the north-west of the country (the Mount Newman, Mount Goldsworth, etc. deposits). Iron ore is also found on the islands of Kulan and Kokatu in King's Bay (in the northwest), in the state of South Australia in the Middleback Range (Iron-Knob, etc.) and in Tasmania - the Savage River deposit (in the valley of the Savage River).
The country has been provided with iron ore reserves for 86 years, but exploration work is actively underway. Iron ore exploration spending reached $1,163 million in 2012.
In 2012, 520 million tons of iron ore provided Australia with the 2nd place in the world ranking and the first place in terms of export (494 million tons). The main consumers of iron ore exports are China, Brazil and India. BREE forecasts an increase in steel consumption in China of 4% to 725 Mt coinciding with development of the Chinese government's infrastructure program.

manganese ores
Australia has 11% of the world's manganese ore reserves (186.7 million tons) and ranks fifth behind Ukraine (25%), South Africa (20%), Brazil (15%) and China (14%). Inferred resources reach 324 million tons. Australia produces 15% of the world's manganese ore (7.2 million tons) and ranks third after China (31%) and South Africa (16%). In Australia, there are three active mines and one production for the processing of man-made deposits. The Groove Island field located here is one of the largest fields in the world. The content of manganese in the ore is 37-52%. Ores are easily enriched. Mining is underway open way. Smaller deposits are also known in Western Australia (Woody Woody, Mike). Australia's only manganese ore processing plant is operated by TEMCO at Bell Bay in Tasmania. Export of manganese ore in 2012 amounted to 6.7 million tons in the amount of $1.204 billion. Marketable ore is exported to the USA, Japan, and European countries.

Heavy mineral sands
Their main components are rutile, ilmenite, zircon and monazite. Rutile and zircon reserves in Australia in 2012 were the largest in the world (52% and 53% respectively). Australia has the second largest share of ilmenite in the world with 15% after China (31%), is the largest producer of rutile with 55.9% of world production, zircon (42.9%), the second largest producer of ilmenite (11.9% ) The deposits are associated with offshore placers on the east and southwest coasts between Stradbroke Island (Queensland) and Byron Bay (New South Wales) and on the coast of Western Australia at Capely. The largest deposits are Yeniba, Capel Banbury, Southport, Hammock Hill, Hex Tomago, etc. The sands contain titanium minerals (ilmenite, rutile), zirconium (zircon) and rare earths (monazite). The content of heavy minerals fluctuates sharply (from a few to 60%). Deposits of Australia are considered as the main promising world source of rutile, ilmenite and zircon.
In 2012, Australia produced 1.344 million tons of ilmenite, 439 thousand tons of rutile and 605 thousand tons of zircon. In 2012, 2.023 million tons of ilmenite, 342 thousand tons of rutile and 680 thousand tons of zircon were exported. Australia also produces 480,000 tons of synthetic rutile. The reserves of ilmenite, rutile and zircon in the country are enough for an average of 116 years for ilmenite, 52 years for rutile and 68 years for zircon
According to Iluka Resources Ltd 1 the global zircon demand remained weak throughout 2012. The demand for high grade titanium dioxide was high in the first quarter in 2012 but softened in the second half of the year.
Reserves of rare earth metals (REM) in Australia amount to 3.19 million tons (2.8% of the world). According to this indicator, the green continent is inferior to China (55 million tons) and the USA (13 million tons). The main volumes of REM are mined in Western Australia, New South Wales and Queensland. In terms of REM production (4.0 thousand tons, 3.7% of world production), the country ranks 3rd in the world. REM export volumes were estimated at $284 million in 2008. The resources of REEs are usually reported as rare earth oxides (REO).

Coal
The coal industry plays an extremely important role in the Australian economy. It covers 85% of the country's energy needs and is ahead of all other sectors of the country in terms of exports. The coal reserves discovered in Australia are estimated at 76.2 billion tons (4th place in the world) and at the current scale of production (431 million tons in 2012, 4th place in the world) they are enough for almost 150 years. The country accounts for 8% of the world's hard coal reserves and 15% of lignite reserves.

Oil
The explored reserves of Australian oil currently amount to only 3.9 billion barrels, and annual production is about 180 million barrels, but soon the green continent may become the world leader in oil reserves. Everything changed the message about the discovery of a field in the center of the continent in a place known as Arkaringa, which, according to various sources, can contain from 133 to 233 billion barrels of oil. True, geologists and economists have yet to find out how commercially profitable its production will be. Experts do not exclude that with the help of modern technologies it will be possible to extract only a small part of it - 3.5 billion barrels, which at current prices will cost almost $360 billion, which will be a good increase for the Australian economy.
The found oil belongs to shale, the extraction of which is more expensive than conventional oil. The largest deposits are located in the states of Queensland and Tasmania. Australian company Santos has already announced the start of production shale gas from deposits in the eastern part of the country. Thus, Australia was the first to start commercial production of shale gas outside the North American continent. According to experts, the extraction of natural gas from shale deposits will be profitable due to high level prices on the market. Australian shale gas reserves are estimated at 12 trillion cubic meters. In terms of profitability, LNG could begin to compete with iron ore, which has been Australia's main export for two decades. By 2020, Australia will overtake Qatar (77 million tons) in terms of production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and will be largest exporter LNG. There are currently three LNG production facilities in Australia with a total capacity of 24 Mtpa, which have contributed moderately to the increase in supply in the gas market. But in the coming years, everything will change: seven more production facilities with a total capacity of 61 million tons per year are now being built. The plans include several more projects both on the western and eastern coasts (for 50 million tons).

The main natural wealth of the country is mineral resources. Australia's endowment with natural resource potential is 20 times higher than the world average. The country ranks 1st in the world in bauxite reserves (1/3 of the world reserves and 40% of production), zirconium, 1st in the world in uranium reserves (1/3 of the world) and 3rd (after Kazakhstan and Canada ) for its extraction (8022 tons in 2009). The country ranks 6th in the world in terms of coal reserves. It has significant reserves of manganese, gold, diamonds. In the south of the country (the Brownlow field), as well as off the northeastern and northwestern coasts in the shelf zone, there are insignificant deposits of oil and natural gas.

The largest deposits of iron ore in Australia, which began to be developed in the 60s of the XX century, are located in the region of the Hamersley Range in the north-west of the country (the Mount Newman, Mount Goldsworth, etc. deposits). Iron ore is also found on the islands of Kulan and Kokatu in King's Bay (in the northwest), in the state of South Australia in the Middleback Range (Iron-Knob, etc.) and in Tasmania - the Savage River deposit (in the valley of the Savage River).

Large deposits of polymetals (lead, zinc mixed with silver and copper) are located in the western desert part of the state of New South Wales - the Broken Hill deposit. An important center for the extraction of non-ferrous metals has developed near the Mount Isa deposit (in the state of Queensland). There are also deposits of non-ferrous metals in Tasmania (Reed-Rosebery and Mount Lyell), copper - in Tennant Creek (Northern Territory) and in other places.

Bauxites occur on the Cape York Peninsula (Waype Field) and Arnhem Land (Gow Field), as well as in the southwest, in the Darling Range (Jarradale Field).

Uranium deposits have been found in various parts of the mainland: in the north (Arnhemland Peninsula) - near the South and East Alligator rivers, in the state of South Australia - near Lake Frome, in the state of Queensland - the Mary Catlin deposit and in the western part of the country - the Yillirri deposit.

Geological surveys have established that large deposits of oil and natural gas are located in the bowels of the Australian mainland and on the shelf off its coast. Oil has been found and produced in Queensland (the Mooney, Alton and Bennet fields), on Barrow Island off the northwestern coast of the mainland, and also on the continental shelf off the south coast of Victoria (the Kingfish field). Deposits of gas (the largest Ranken field) and oil have also been discovered on the shelf off the northwestern shores of the mainland.