Federal Government statistics have been released showing that Australia has the world\u2019s largest identified resources in nine major mineral commodities.<\/p>\n
The latest\u00a0Australia\u2019s Identified Mineral Resources<\/em>(AIMR) report includes assessments of reserves and resources at operating mines and other deposits, evaluations of long-term trends for major commodities, and comparative world rankings for mineral resources.<\/p>\n It shows that Australia\u2019s robust mining industry remains a world leader, keeping\u00a0the country well placed as an attractive investment destination.<\/p>\n As at December 2016, Australia had the highest Economic Demonstrated Resources in the world for gold, iron ore, lead, nickel, rutile, tantalum, uranium, zinc and zircon. In 2017, Australia had 301 operating mines.<\/p>\n Australia is in the top five in the world as a producer of 20 out of 34 important commodities, including gold, bauxite, iron ore, rare earths, mineral sands, zinc, lead and coal.<\/p>\n \u201cThese commodities are essential for maintaining and powering our modern lifestyles and for building a high-tech future,\u201d according to Geoscience Australia.<\/p>\n In 2016, Australia\u2019s mineral exports (excluding petroleum) amounted to a value of more than $151 billion, the report stated.<\/p>\n This was almost 46 per cent of the value of all exported goods and services. In the 2016-17 financial year, mining accounted for 7.4 per cent of Australia\u2019s gross domestic product.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"