Mineral resources in Tasmania
Tasmania has an abundance of high-grade mineral deposits.
Significant mineral deposits in Tasmania include iron ore, silica, dolomite, magnesite, platinum, chromite, tin, tungsten, gold, silver, lead, zinc and coal. Gas has been discovered offshore.
With the boom in China and India, and demand exceeding supply, world prices for minerals have increased. Iron ore, nickel and copper, in particular, have increased in value and according to Terry Long, executive director of the Tasmanian Minerals Council, the prediction is that prices will hold.
did you know?
Tasmania has mined gold worth about $1 billion.
The mineral extraction and processing sector is Tasmania’s largest export industry, accounting for more than 40 percent of all exports and worth more than one billion dollars a year.
Mines, smelters and processing plants in Tasmania are operating at their peak and, with exports set to remain stable, the mining sector is focused on increasing exploration activities.
According to Australian Bureau of Statistics data, expenditure on mineral exploration in Tasmania in the financial year to the end of June 2006 was $22.6 million, up 172 percent from the previous year.
tasmania’s mineral potential ranked number six in the world in 2005
The authoritative Fraser Institute conducts an annual survey of international mining companies to identify the most attractive jurisdictions world-wide as destinations for mineral exploration investment. In the 2005 survey they ranked Tasmania number six in the world for mineral potential – second to only Western Australia among Australian jurisdictions.
Zeehan – a mining town and ore processing centre on the west coast of Tasmania.
© Tourism Tasmania and Joe Shemesh
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