Natural resources
Introduction
Australia has many natural resources. These resources include mineral resources, such as copper, gold and diamonds, energy resources, such as coal, oil, and uranium, and land resources that are used for farming and logging. These resources are economically important to Australia. Many people believe that Australia's economy is resource dependent, which means that if these resources were to be depleted, Australia's economy would suffer. See image 1
Mineral resources
Australia is among the world's largest producers of minerals. The most important mineral resources in Australia are bauxite, gold and iron ore. Other mineral deposits in Australia include copper, lead, zinc, diamonds and mineral sands. A majority of Australia's minerals are mined in Western Australia and Queensland. Most of the minerals mined in Australia are exported, or shipped overseas. See image 2
Energy resources
Australia has extensive deposits of coal. Coal is mostly found in the eastern part of the country in the Sydney and Bowen basins. Two-thirds of Australian coal is exported, mostly to Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Western Europe. The rest of the coal mined in Australia is burned for electricity within Australia. See image 3
Natural gas is also abundant in Australia. Natural gas is used to heat homes and power certain types of vehicles. Natural gas reserves in Australia are mostly found in Western Australia and central Australia. Since most of these reserves are far away from urban centres, gas pipelines have been built to transport natural gas to cities such as Sydney and Melbourne. Some of this natural gas is exported from where it is collected. Natural gas collected in Western Australia, for example, is exported directly to Japan in liquid form.
Australia also contains one-third of the world's uranium supply. Uranium is used to produce nuclear power. Nuclear power and uranium mining are both highly controversial, however, because people are worried about their environmental impact, as uranium can emit toxic radiation. See image 4
Land resources
Finally, Australia's land itself can be considered as a resource. Australian soil is used to grow food in the form of crops and to produce food for raising livestock, such as cattle. Australian forests are used as a source of wood for building and making paper.
