Australias known resources of a wide range of mineral commodities are considerable in comparison with rates of production. Australia has the worlds largest economic demonstrated resources of bauxite, lead, zinc, silver, ilmenite, rutile, zircon, tantalum, and uranium. In addition, Australia is ranked in the top three countries in the world for economic demonstrated resources of brown coal, copper, cobalt, gold, iron ore, manganese ore, nickel , gem/near-gem and industrial diamond. Despite a high rate of discovery of significant new mineral deposits, particularly since the 1950s, there is considerable potential for discovery of further mineral deposits in Australia. This is indicated by the abundance of high-quality known resources and the ange of prospective geological settings. Increasingly, future discoveries are likely to be in regions where there has been little exploration to date because of their remoteness or the presence of concealing regolith or sedimentary cover. The few widely used mineral commodities for which Australia has low levels of demonstrated resources include chromium, platinum group metals, trona, and some components of fertilisers, such as potassium salts, and elemental sulphur. Given the acceptance of widespread multiple or sequential land use, which accommodates responsible exploration and mining, Australia is very well placed to maintain its position as one of the worlds major suppliers of a wide range of mineral commodities.
