RSS feedMetal and mining projects
Mining has become the bottomless pit for major development projects in Australia. Despite scores of new projects having been approved, the question of the cumulative effect of rampant mining is not being considered, let alone evaluated.
Major development projects
In 2007-08, expenditure on exploration in Australia’s minerals and energy sector was $5.5 billion, the highest on record and more than twice the annual average expenditure of the past 25 years.
In the six months to October 2008, 22 major minerals and energy projects with a capital expenditure of $10.8 billion were completed.
A further 85 projects were at an advanced stage with projected expenditure of $67.3 billion.
Metal mining projects
In the six months to October 2008, 12 metal mining projects were completed at a capital cost of $4.4 billion. The largest project was stage one of Fortescue Metals Group’s Pilbara Iron Ore project, capable of producing 45 million tonnes of iron ore annually, with further optimization work under way to bring capacity to 55 million tonnes. The project included a mine, port and rail infrastructure and a handling facility costing $3.1 billion to complete.
In New South Wales, Straits Resources started producing at the $30 million Hillgrove redevelopment, south-east of Armidale. The mine will produce 20,000 ounces of gold, 10 000 tonnes of antimony and 300 tonnes of tungsten a year, at full capacity.
Four gold projects, with total new capacity of more than 490 000 ounces of gold a year at a combined cost of $374 million, were also completed during the period.
Exploration expenditure
Exploration expenditure on base metals (copper, nickel, silver, lead, zinc and cobalt) was up 41 per cent in 2007-08 to more than $780 million, reflecting high global prices, while expenditure on exploration for gold increased by 30 per cent to more than $590 million, the highest since a decade earlier, in 1997-98.
Further reading
- Read about the cumulative effects of mining here.
- Consult ABARE's table of expenditure on private mineral exploration
- or follow these links to find out more on the following metals and minerals:
Source reference: ABARE
http://www.abare.gov.au/publications_html/energy/energy_08/ME08_Oct.pdf
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