Australia is one of the major copper producers in the world. The Olympic Dam in South Australia and Mount Isa in Queensland have world-class copper mines and smelters. There are also important copper mines and smelters in Northparkes and Cadia Hill in northern NSW, Osborne and Mount Gordon in Queensland, and Golden Grove and Nifty in Western Australia.

Copper resources

According to the assessment in 2002, the copper resources in Australia are 65.4Mt, of which the copper resources with proven economic significance are 33Mt, the copper resources with secondary economic significance are 10.8Mt, and the hidden copper resources are 210.8 mt. Hidden copper resources are mainly concentrated in South Australia, accounting for 50%, followed by Queensland, accounting for 26%, NSW and Western Australia each accounting for 9%.

produce

In 2002, Australian copper output was 883,000 tons, which was 65,438+0% lower than that of 896,000 tons in 2006. Among them, Queensland produces 475,000 tons, accounting for 54% of Australia's total output; South Australia's output is 6.5438+0.78 million tons, accounting for 20% of Australia's total output; The output of New South Wales is 6.5438+0.35 million tons, that of Western Australia is 57,000 tons, and that of Tasmania is 37,000 tons.

In 2002, Australia exported 684,000 tons of refined copper and refined copper, with an average unit price of A $28,765,438+0 per ton and an export value of A $2 billion.

world ranking

Australia accounts for 10% of the world's economically significant copper resources, ranking third, second only to Chile (45%) and the United States (1 1%).

In 2002, the copper produced in Australia accounted for 10% of the global total output, ranking fourth. The first place is Chile (5 1%), the second place is the United States (13%), and the third place is Indonesia (13%).

ironstone

Besides oxygen, silicon and aluminum, iron is the fourth most abundant element. The shell contains 5% iron. Iron ore is an oxide, and metallic iron can be produced by heating with reducing agent.

All states in Australia have iron ore, and the state with the most iron ore is Western Australia. Western Australia has 90% of all discovered iron ore resources in Australia, mainly concentrated in the Pilbara area. There are 65,438+03 mines in this area, of which 6 are operated by Hammersley, 2 by Robe River and 5 by BHP Billiton. In addition, there are iron mines in Koolyanobbing and Curiano Bin and Cockatoo Island in Western Australia. Dobbeck Mountain in South Australia and Savage River in Tasmania also have mines.

Pig iron and steel are produced in Kembola Port, Kembola Port and Waiala Port in New South Wales, Australia. Rooty Hill in New South Wales, Mayfield in New South Wales and Laverton North in Victoria also produce steel. Near port hedland, Western Australia, Duanshan Company owns an iron mine.

Iron ore resources

According to the assessment in 2002, Australia has 13Gt iron ore resources with proven economic significance, which can be mined for 70 years.

produce

According to the data of Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resources, in 2002, Australia produced 65438+872 million tons of iron ore, 97% of which was produced in Western Australia. In 2002, iron ore exports were 16580 tons, with an export value of 5.2 billion Australian dollars.

world ranking

Australia occupies 9% of the world's proven economically significant iron ore resources, ranking fourth in the world. Ukraine ranks first, accounting for 21%of the global iron ore resources; Russia ranks second, accounting for17% of global iron ore resources; China ranks third, accounting for 14% of the global iron ore resources.

Australia is also a big iron ore producer, accounting for 17% of the global output, second only to China (2 1%) and Brazil (20%).

Bauxite (bauxite)

Bauxite is a heterogeneous substance existing in nature, which is used to produce alumina and aluminum. The main components of bauxite include gibbsite, diaspore and diaspore.

More than 85% of bauxite mined in the world is used to produce alumina, and then to produce metallic aluminum. 10% is used to produce non-metallic alumina, and the rest is used for non-smelting bauxite. Alumina is extracted from bauxite by wet chemical corrosion and dissolution.

Alcoa Australia includes five bauxite mines, six alumina refineries, six major aluminum smelters, 12 extrusion plant and four products (thin plates, metal plates and foils) rolling plants. Alcoa direct employees 16000 people. Industries are mainly distributed in northern Queensland, Hunter Valley, southwestern Victoria, southwestern Western Australia, Northern Territory and northern Tasmania.

Bauxite resources

Australia's bauxite resources are mainly concentrated in three areas: first, the northern part of Queensland, that is, the Weipa and Goff areas near Carpentaria Bay; The second is the Darling Mountains south of Perth, Western Australia. These two areas are the largest bauxite mines in the world and have been proved to be exploitable? Tibetan land; Third, the Mitchell Plateau and Cape Bougainville in northern Western Australia are uneconomical to develop at present.

According to the assessment in 2002, the proven economically proven bauxite resources in Australia are 8.8Gt, and the implied bauxite resources are 1.4Gt.

produce

In 2002, Australia produced 54 million tons of bauxite,16.4 million tons of alumina and180,000 tons of primary aluminum. In fiscal year 2000102, the total amount of bauxite, alumina and primary aluminum exported by Australia reached A $8.2 billion.

world ranking

Australia has the largest bauxite resources in the world (880 million tons), followed by Guinea, Brazil, Jamaica, China and India. Australia is also the world's largest exporter of bauxite and alumina, accounting for 36% and 30% of the world's total exports respectively in 2002.