Mining in Australia has long been a significant primary sector industry and contributor to the Australian economy by providing export income, royalty payments and employment. Historically, mining booms have also encouraged population growth via immigration to Australia, particularly the gold rushes of the 1850s. Many different ores, gems and minerals have been mined in the past and a wide variety are still mined throughout the country.

In 2019, Australia was the world's largest producer of iron ore and bauxite; the second largest of gold, manganese, and lead; the third largest of zinc, cobalt, and uranium; the fifth largest of salt; the sixth largest of copper and nickel; the eighth largest producer of silver and tin; the fourteenth largest of phosphate; and the fifteenth largest of sulfur. The country is also a major producer of precious stones, being the world's largest producer of opal and is also one of the largest producers of diamond, ruby, sapphire and jade.

In non-renewable energies, in 2020, the country was the 30th largest producer of oil in the world, extracting 351.1 thousand barrels/day. In 2019, the country consumed 1 million barrels/day (the 20th largest consumer in the world). The country was the 20th largest oil importer in the world in 2018 (461.9 thousand barrels/day). In 2015, Australia was the 12th largest world producer of natural gas, 67.2 billion m3 per year. In 2019, the country was the 22nd largest gas consumer (41.9 billion m3 per year) and was the 10th largest gas exporter in the world in 2015: 34.0 billion m3 per year. In the production of coal, the country was the 4th largest in the world in 2018: 481.3 million tons. Australia is the 2nd largest coal exporter in the world (387 million tons in 2018)

History Mining was an important early source of export income in Australian colonies and helped to pay for the imports needed for the growing colonial economies. Silver and later copper were discovered in South Australia in the 1840s, leading to the export of ore and the immigration of skilled miners and smelters. Coal was first exported to India in 1799. By 1901 Australia was exporting several million tonnes of coal each year. After World War II the Bowen Basin was opened up fueling exports to Japan for its growing steel industry.

An iron ore export ban was in place from 1938 to 24 November 1960. In 1965, the first iron ore mine was operated at Goldsworthy in Western Australia. Exports of iron ore began in the 1960s. Iron ore production reached 100 million tonnes by the mid-1970s. This figure doubled to 200 million tonnes in 2003, and tripled by 2013. Western Australia became the largest iron ore producer in the world in 2014. Iron ore reached $100 billion in annual export value in 2020, the first commodity to do so.

The first economic minerals in Australia were silver and lead in February 1841 at Glen Osmond, now a suburb of Adelaide in South Australia. Mines including Wheal Gawler and Wheal Watkins opened soon after. The value of these mines was soon overshadowed by the discovery of copper at Kapunda (1842), Burra (1845) and in the Copper Triangle (Moonta, Kadina and Wallaroo) area at the top of Yorke Peninsula (1861).

A small amount of uranium ore was mined in 1906 from Radium Hill. Uranium deposits at Rum Jungle were developed in the 1950s. The Ranger Uranium Mine was opened in June 1979 and the Olympic Dam mine opened in 1988. The Ranger Uranium Mine was controversial, leading to the Ranger Uranium Environmental Inquiry. Indigenous people of the region were opposed to the mine. Indigenous opposition to the Ranger Uranium Mine influenced environmental assessments and policies.

Gold rushes

In 1851, gold was found near Ophir, New South Wales. Weeks later, gold was found in the newly established colony of Victoria. Australian gold rushes, in particular the Victorian gold rush, had a major lasting impact on Victoria, and on Australia as a whole. The influx of wealth that gold brought soon made Victoria Australia's richest colony by far, and Melbourne the continent's largest city. By the middle of the 1850s, 40% of the world's gold was produced in Australia.

Australia's population changed dramatically as a result of the gold rushes: in 1851 the population was 437,655 and a decade later it was 1,151,957; the rapid growth was predominantly a result of the "new chums" (recent immigrants from the United Kingdom and other colonies of the Empire) who contributed the 'rush'. Although most Victorian goldfields were exhausted by the end of the 19th century, and although much of the profit was sent back to the UK, sufficient wealth remained to fund substantial development of industry and infrastructure.

Location

Australia has mining activity in all of its states and territories. The Minerals Council of Australia estimates that 0.02% of Australia's land surface is directly impacted by mining.

Particularly significant areas today include the Goldfields, Peel and Pilbara regions of Western Australia, the Hunter Valley in New South Wales, the Bowen Basin in Queensland and Latrobe Valley in Victoria and various parts of the outback. Places such as Kalgoorlie, Mount Isa, Mount Morgan, Broken Hill and Coober Pedy are known as mining towns.

Major active mines in Australia include: Olympic Dam in South Australia, a copper, silver and uranium mine believed to have the world's largest uranium reserve, and in 2018 representing 6% of world production. Super Pit gold mine, which has replaced a number of underground mines at Boulder, Western Australia. Mount Whaleback mine in Western Australia is the largest open-pit iron ore mine in the world.

Minerals and resources

Large quantities of minerals and resources : Iron ore – Australia was the world's largest producer in 2019, supplying 580 million tonnes, 37% of the world's output (39% of the world's contained metal production). Nickel – Australia was the world's fifth largest producer in 2019, producing 6.7% of world output. Aluminium – Australia was the world's largest producer of bauxite in 2019 (27% of world production), and the second largest producer of alumina (15%), after China. Copper – Australia was the world's 6th largest producer in 2019 (5% of world's production). Gold – Australia was the second largest producer after China in 2019, producing , 10% of the world's output. Silver – In 2019 Australia was the sixth largest producer, producing , 5% of the world's output. Uranium – Australia is responsible for 12% of the world's production and was the world's third largest producer in 2018, after Kazakhstan and Canada. Diamonds – Australia has the third largest commercially viable deposits after Russia and Botswana. Opal – As of 2010 Australia was the world's largest producer of opal, being responsible for 95% of production. Zinc – Australia was third to China and Peru in zinc production in 2019, producing 1.3 million tonnes, 10% of world production. Coal – Australia is the world's largest exporter of coal and fourth largest producer of coal behind China, US, and India. Oil shale – Australia has the sixth largest defined oil shale resources. Natural gas – Australia is world's largest exporter of LNG with 77.5 million tonnes in 2019. Rare-earth elements – In 2019 Australia was the third largest producer after China and the US, with 10% of the world's output. As per the US Geological Survey's February 2025 report on rare-earth elements, Australia was 4th in terms of reserves,Rare Earths Reserves: Top 8 Countries, investingnews.com, 05 Feb 2025. and 4th in terms of production (Myanmar coming in 3rd).Top 10 Countries by Rare Earth Metal Production , investingnews.com, 25 Mar 2025. The rare-earth industry in Australia is an expanding sector.

Much of the raw material mined in Australia is exported overseas to countries such as China for processing into refined products. Energy and minerals constitute two-thirds of Australia's total exports to China, and more than half of Australia's iron ore exports are to China.

Statistical chart of Australia's major mineral resources Australia ranks among the top 4 in economic resources for 21 primary industrial minerals, more than any other nation. Statistics are for December 2016.

Units of measurement: t = tonne; kt = kilotonne (1,000 t); Mt = million tonne (1,000,000 t); Mc = million carat (1,000,000 c) Mineral Unit of MeasurementDemonstratedEconomic ResourcesWorldRanking ofResources% ofWorldResourcesProduction (2016)World Ranking of Production% ofWorldProductionYears of Resourcesat Current ProductionRateAntimonykt content139495.54425BauxiteMt ore6,00522282.1513173Coal, BlackMt64,045410566.347113Coal, Brown (lignite)Mt66,43922463.3561,050Cobaltkt content11642145.4754213CopperMt content87.78212.955592Diamond (industrial)Mc115.8431813.962248Goldt content9,8001172882934Iron oreMt ore49,58812985813858LeadMt content24.09140.452954Lithiumkt content2,73031814141195ManganeseMt ore2194133.24968NickelMt content18.5124.2045991Rare Earth ElementsMt ore3.4363.014211245Silverkt content89.292161.425563Tinkt content4864106.647273Titanium (Ilmenite & Rutile)Mt ore276.12171.7210162Tungstenkt content391212.1112.401,151Uraniumkt content1,2121296.31310192Vanadiumkt content2,11141100NANAZincMt content63.5128.8843775ZirconMt ore72.1167.60131120

Coal mining

Coal is mined in every state of Australia except South Australia. Australia is one of the world's major coal producers and exporters, ranking fourth in production (after China, India and the United States) and second in exports (after Indonesia). While most Australian coal is exported, coal was also used to generate 28.7% of Australia's total primary energy supply in 2021.

Copper Mining Australia is a significant global producer of copper, ranking as the sixth-largest copper-producing nation in 2023. Major copper operations include Olympic Dam in South Australia and Mount Isa in Queensland. In recent years, there has also been a rise in copper-gold exploration activity by ASX-listed junior companies, particularly in Queensland, including QMines, Carnaby Resources, and Hammer Metals.https://stockhead.com.au/resources/the-copper-supply-cliff-is-real-and-heres-what-juniors-are-doing-about-it/

Uranium mining

Uranium mining in Australia began in the early 20th century in South Australia. In 2016, Australia contained 29% of the world's defined uranium resources. The three largest uranium mines in the country are Olympic Dam, Ranger Uranium Mine and Beverley Uranium Mine. Future production is expected from Honeymoon Uranium Mine and the planned Four Mile Uranium Mine.

Natural gas Based on 2008 CSIRO report, Australia estimated to have stranded gas reserves with about 140 trillion cubic feet or enough to fulfil the needs of a city with one million people for 2,800 years.

Lithium

Australia is the biggest producer of lithium by weight and has the world's largest hard-rock lithium mine, the Greenbushes mine in Western Australia. Lithium mined at Greenbushes accounted for more than 20% of global production in 2021.

Entrepreneurs and magnates

At various stages in the history of the mining industry in Australia, individual mining managers, directors and investors have gained significant wealth and the subsequent publicity. In most cases the individuals are designated Mining Magnates or Australian mining entrepreneurs.

Economics

A number of large multinational mining companies including BHP, Newcrest, Rio Tinto, Alcoa, Chalco, Shenhua, Alcan and Xstrata operate in Australia. There are also many small mining and mineral exploration companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). Overall, the resources sector represents almost 20% of the ASX market by capitalisation, and almost one third of the companies listed.