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In the September quarter 2009, the index of export prices of Australia’s energy and mineral resources (export unit values) declined by 11 per cent compared with the June quarter. Export unit values for energy minerals declined by 14 per cent, mainly reflecting lower contract prices for metallurgical and thermal coal. Metals and other minerals prices remained steady, as higher zinc, nickel and copper export unit values were offset by declines in iron ore, gold and diamond export unit values. A 10 per cent appreciation of the Australian dollar against the US dollar also contributed to lower export prices for energy and mineral resources.
Compared with the September quarter 2008, the index of export prices for energy and mineral resources was 34 per cent lower, as export unit values for energy commodities declined by 42 per cent and export unit values for minerals and other metals declined by 18 per cent.
Export earnings from energy and mineral resources declined by 2 per cent to $30.2 billion in the September quarter 2009 compared with the June quarter. This is largely the result of a 10 per cent appreciation of the Australian dollar against the US dollar and lower bulk commodity contract prices, which began to take effect from April. The full effect of lower bulk commodity prices was not experienced until the September quarter, as some exports in the June quarter were shipped under the higher priced contracts. Increases in export values for manganese, nickel, crude oil, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and bauxite partially offset the effect of lower prices for bulk commodities.
Commodities that recorded significant increases in export earnings were: LPG, up $94 million (47 per cent) to $292 million; nickel, up $199 million (31 per cent) to $833 million; crude oil and condensate, up $388 million (23 per cent) to $2.1 billion; and liquefied natural gas (LNG), up $133 million (8 per cent) to $1.7 billion. With the exception of nickel, the increase in export earnings reflects both higher export volumes and prices. For nickel, a significant increase in price more than offset a decline in export volume.
Commodities that recorded significant declines in export earnings in the September quarter were: diamonds, down $17 million (22 per cent) to $59 million; gold, down $414 million (13 per cent) to $2.7 billion; metallurgical coal, down $683 million (11 per cent) to $5.5 billion; and thermal coal, down $296 million (9 per cent) to $3.2 billion. With the exception of thermal coal, decreasing prices more than offset the effect of increasing export volumes. For thermal coal, a decrease in the price led to a decrease in export earnings.
Production was higher in the September quarter compared with the June quarter, with around two-thirds of Australia’s major commodities recording production increases. The largest increase was in diamond production, which increased by 320 per cent. Increased production was also observed for iron and steel (56 per cent); manganese (53 per cent); refined gold (14 per cent); iron ore (8 per cent); crude oil and condensate (6 per cent); mined nickel (5 per cent) and raw black coal (4 per cent).
Diamond production increased significantly in the September quarter following a two month maintenance shutdown at Rio Tinto’s Argyle mine during the June quarter. The significant increase in iron and steel production was the result of the restart of BlueScope Steel’s Port Kembla Steelworks. Increased manganese production occurred because of increases at BHP Billiton’s Northern Territory operations.
The increase in refined gold production largely reflected a rise in the amount of refined gold produced from imported scrap and recycled gold during the quarter. BHP Billiton was able to increase iron ore production despite tie-in activities associated with Rapid Growth Project 4. Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group were also able to increase production during the quarter.
Production of crude oil and condensate increased, largely as a result of higher production from Woodside’s Corallina field combined with increased production from the Vincent and Enfield fields, and the restart of operations at Santos’ Mutineer Exeter oil field.
Higher mined nickel production was achieved as a result of production increases at Minara Resources’ Murrin Murrin mine. Raw black coal production increases were supported by strong export demand, particularly for metallurgical coal.
Declines in production occurred for refined zinc (8 per cent); refined copper (7 per cent); mined copper (7 per cent); mined silver (6 per cent) and uranium (4 per cent).
The decrease in production of refined copper occurred largely as a result of a planned maintenance shutdown at BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam. This also affected uranium production in the quarter. Mined silver production was down on the previous quarter, largely because of reduced production at Minerals and Metals Group’s Golden Grove mine associated with a four week unplanned maintenance shutdown. Refined zinc production was affected by decreased production at Sun Metals’ Townsville refinery.
In the September quarter 2009, Australia’s crude oil and natural gas production increased by 6 per cent and 3 per cent, respectively. The expansion of Woodside’s Corallina field, stronger production at the Vincent and Enfield fields, higher production from BHP Billiton’s Bass Strait operations and the restart of operations at Santos’ Mutineer Exeter oil field contributed to the increase in crude oil production. Export values of crude oil and condensate increased by 23 per cent to $2.1 billion as a result of higher export volumes and unit values.
The increase in natural gas exports was largely a result of higher production from the North West Shelf Joint Venture, being underpinned by the improved performance of the fifth LNG train. The export value of natural gas increased by 8 per cent to $1.7 billion, reflecting higher export volumes and higher prices.
Production of raw black coal increased by 4 per cent to around 118 million tonnes in the September quarter compared with the June quarter. This increased production supported higher export volumes, which increased by 8 per cent to 73 million tonnes.
In the September quarter, export unit values for metallurgical and thermal coal declined by 24 per cent and 9 per cent, respectively, despite an increase in thermal coal spot prices. This reflected the effect of lower contract prices and an appreciation of the Australian dollar. As a result, black coal export earnings declined by 10 per cent to $8.7 billion during the September quarter.
Australia’s uranium production (U3O8) decreased by 105 tonnes (4 per cent) to 2685 tonnes in the September quarter. Energy Resources of Australia’s Ranger mine had a five day planned maintenance outage and intermittent production disruptions as a result of an area of instability on the pit wall, leading to lower production. Maintenance work was also carried out at BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam mine.
Copper and uranium production in the December quarter is likely to decline, reflecting an incident in early October at BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam mine. The main haulage shaft at the mine was damaged and production could be as low as 25 per cent of capacity until repairs are completed in the second half of 2010.
In the September quarter 2009, iron ore production increased by 8 per cent to 107 million tonnes. This increase was reflected in exports, which increased by 10 per cent to 98 million tonnes. In comparison, exports in the March quarter 2009 and the December quarter 2008 were 78 million tonnes and 69 million tonnes, respectively.
Despite higher production and export volumes in the September quarter 2009, export earnings were 26 per cent lower than the same period a year earlier, primarily reflecting sharp declines in contract prices for iron ore products in Japanese Fiscal Year 2009 (April 2009 to March 2010).
Gold mine production remained unchanged at 55 tonnes in the September quarter, while refined production grew by 14 per cent to 87 tonnes. The rise in refined production reflected an increase in the volume of overseas sourced scrap refined in Australia. A rise in the US dollar denominated gold price was more than offset by an appreciation of the Australian dollar, which led to a 5 per cent fall in unit export values. As a result of both decreased export volumes and a lower Australian dollar denominated gold price, export earnings decreased by 13 per cent to $2.7 billion in the September quarter 2009.
Copper production fell by 7 per cent in the quarter. The ramp up at OZ Minerals’ Prominent Hill mine was offset by decreases in production at Aditya Birla Minerals’ Nifty mine and Newcrest Mining’s Cadia Valley and Telfer operations. Despite export volumes remaining steady, the value of copper exports declined by 4 per cent to $1.5 billion, largely as a result of the appreciation of the Australian dollar. Production in the December quarter will be affected by the Olympic Dam incident discussed earlier that involved damage to the main haulage shaft.
Nickel mine production in Australia increased in the September quarter by 5 per cent to 40 000 tonnes. Australian production has been limited by the number of mines that remain closed, following sharp falls in nickel prices in late 2008 and early 2009. There is still an estimated 40 000 tonnes of nickel capacity in Australia that is currently out of operation. The value of nickel exports rose by 31 per cent to $833 million in the September quarter, as a result of higher prices and export volumes.
Mined zinc production increased by 3 per cent in the September quarter, mainly supported by increases in production at Xstrata’s McArthur River mine, Minerals and Metals Group’s Golden Grove and Rosebery mines, Kagara’s Mount Garnet mine and Terramin’s Angas zinc mine. Refined zinc production declined by 8 per cent in the September quarter, mainly reflecting decreased refined production at Sun Metals’ Townsville zinc refinery. Export volumes of zinc in the September quarter declined by 11 per cent from the June quarter, mainly reflecting lower production of refined zinc. A 4 per cent decline in export values largely reflected lower export volumes and the higher value of the Australian dollar.
Quarterly export summary |
||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
export volume |
export value |
|||||||||
 |
|
|||||||||
Sept 2009 |
June 09 to Sept 09 |
Sept 08 to Sept 09 |
Sept 2009 |
June 09 to Sept 09 |
Sept 08 to Sept 09 |
|||||
% change |
% change |
% change |
% change |
|||||||
| Bauxite | kt |
1 782 |
-37 |
35.4 |
||||||
| Alumina | kt |
4 079 |
8 |
–2.2 |
Bauxite s | $m |
26 |
–38 |
70 |
|
| Aluminium (ingot metal) | kt |
382 |
–13 |
–12.7 |
Alumina a | $m |
1 112 |
–28 |
1 |
|
| Coal, black | Aluminium (ingot metal) | $m |
850 |
–41 |
–4 |
|||||
| Coking | Mt |
39 |
6 |
16.9 |
Coal, black | |||||
| Steaming | Mt |
35 |
7 |
0.2 |
Coking | $m |
5 513 |
–47 |
–11 |
|
| Copper | kt |
203 |
–1 |
–4.6 |
Steaming | $m |
3 150 |
–17 |
–9 |
|
| Diamonds | ‘000 ct |
2 449 |
–49 |
320.1 |
Copper f | $m |
1 462 |
–10 |
–4 |
|
| Gold | t |
75 |
–40 |
–9.1 |
Diamonds cs | $m |
59 |
–65 |
–22 |
|
| Iron | Gems, other than | |||||||||
| Iron ore and pellets | kt |
98 007 |
13 |
10.3 |
diamonds | $m |
9 |
–7 |
13 |
|
| Iron and steel | kt |
280 |
–37 |
–42.6 |
Gold, refined | $m |
2 685 |
–29 |
–13 |
|
| Lead | kt |
154 |
–11 |
–15.4 |
Iron | |||||
| Manganese ore | Iron ore and pellets | $m |
7 123 |
–26 |
1 |
|||||
| and concentrate s | kt |
1 424 |
26 |
28.7 |
Iron and steel | $m |
201 |
–61 |
–3 |
|
| Nickel | kt |
47 |
43 |
5.1 |
Lead f | $m |
338 |
–18 |
–15 |
|
| Petroleum | Magnesia | $m |
8 |
–65 |
–11 |
|||||
| Crude oil and other | Manganese ore | |||||||||
| refinery feedstock | ML |
4 036 |
0 |
7.2 |
and concentrate s | $m |
236 |
–67 |
21 |
|
| LNG | Mt |
4 |
35 |
8.9 |
Nickel fs | $m |
833 |
51 |
31 |
|
| LPG | ML |
846 |
28 |
36.2 |
Petroleum | |||||
| Refinery products | ML |
222 |
–7 |
–24.6 |
Crude oil and other | |||||
| Salt | kt |
2 775 |
2 |
0.5 |
refinery feedstock | $m |
2 053 |
–37 |
23 |
|
| Tin | t |
1 662 |
1156 |
12 |
LNG | $m |
1 731 |
–21 |
8 |
|
| Titanium | LPG | $m |
292 |
–14 |
47 |
|||||
| Ilmenite concentrate | kt |
396 |
50 |
–30.1 |
Refinery products | $m |
134 |
–34 |
–28 |
|
| Leucoxene concentrate | kt |
4 |
–50 |
43.3 |
Salt | $m |
61 |
3 |
2 |
|
| Rutile concentrate | kt |
122 |
11 |
–31.0 |
Silver, refined | $m |
53 |
11 |
–20 |
|
| Synthetic rutile s | kt |
130 |
1 |
1.2 |
Tin f | $m |
26 |
1 117 |
8 |
|
| Titanium dioxide | Titanium | |||||||||
| pigment | kt |
52 |
69 |
–4.0 |
Ilmenite concentrate d | $m |
44 |
42 |
–28 |
|
| Uranium oxide (U3O8) | t |
526 |
–80 |
–81.5 |
Leucoxene concentrate | $m |
3 |
–31 |
50 |
|
| Zinc | kt |
2 685 |
–17 |
–11.1 |
Rutile concentrate | $m |
82 |
18 |
–22 |
|
| Zircon concentrate | kt |
193 |
17 |
9 |
Synthetic rutile s | $m |
70 |
1 |
13 |
|
| Titanium dioxide pigment | $m |
128 |
77 |
–11 |
||||||
| Uranium oxide (U3O8) | $m |
244 |
–45 |
–73 |
||||||
| Zinc f | $m |
442 |
–22 |
–4 |
||||||
| Zircon concentrate e | $m |
118 |
–7 |
–17 |
||||||
| Other mineral resources g | $m |
–298 |
–111 |
–129 |
||||||
| Total mineral resources h | $m |
28 780 |
–33 |
–6 |
||||||
| Total merchandise | $m |
na |
–23 |
0 |
||||||
| Total goods and services | $m |
na |
–18 |
0 |
||||||
| a Includes aluminium hydroxide. b Metallic content of all ores, concentrates, intermediate products (where applicable) and refined metal. c Unsorted and sorted. d Includes metal content of ores and concentrates, intermediate products and nickel metal. e Value of all ores, concentrates, intermediate products (where applicable) and refined metal. f Derived as the difference between total mineral resources exports, below, and the sum of the above items. g Total mineral resource exports on an ABARE balance of payments basis. p Preliminary. s ABARE estimate. Sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra; ABARE. |
||||||||||
Quarterly production summary |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Sept 09 |
Sept 08 to Sept 09 |
June 09 to Sept 09 |
||
% change |
% change |
|||
| Bauxite | kt |
16 552 |
2.3 |
3.5 |
| Alumina | kt |
5 038 |
2.2 |
–1.1 |
| Aluminium (ingot metal) | kt |
482 |
–4.4 |
–3.3 |
| Coal | ||||
| Black, raw | Mt |
118 |
8.3 |
4.4 |
| Black, salable | Mt |
91 |
9.6 |
3.4 |
| Brown as | Mt |
na |
||
| Copper | ||||
| Mine bs | kt |
214 |
–2.1 |
0 |
| Blister c | kt |
108 |
–15.0 |
–11.3 |
| Refined | kt |
113 |
–19.4 |
–11.5 |
| Diamonds | ‘000 ct |
2 449 |
–49.4 |
320.1 |
| Gold | ||||
| Mine bs | t |
55 |
0 |
0 |
| Refined | t |
87 |
–5.4 |
14.5 |
| Iron | ||||
| Iron ore and concentrate | kt |
106 969 |
14.5 |
8.2 |
| Iron and steel | kt |
1 501 |
–17.7 |
94.5 |
| Raw steel | kt |
1 565 |
–20.2 |
62.3 |
| Lead | ||||
| Mine bs | kt |
150 |
270.2 |
297.3 |
| Bullion c | kt |
38 |
252.3 |
287.5 |
| Refined | kt |
53 |
280.4 |
287.3 |
| Manganese | kt |
1 443 |
17.6 |
53.3 |
| Nickel | ||||
| Mine bs | kt |
40 |
–23.1 |
5.3 |
| Intermediate | kt |
5 |
na |
25 |
| Refined, class 1 | kt |
30 |
130.8 |
–3.2 |
| Refined , class 2 | kt |
1 |
–75.0 |
–66.7 |
| Petroleum, field | ||||
| Crude oil and condensate | ML |
6 890 |
–1.1 |
6.4 |
| LPG (naturally occurring) | ML |
1 104 |
4.5 |
3.3 |
| Natural gas | Mm3 |
11 050 |
14.7 |
2.6 |
| Total Refined Petroleum | ML |
9 531 |
–4.2 |
–3.2 |
| Salt | kt |
2 832 |
1.5 |
0.5 |
| Silver | ||||
| Mine bs | t |
402 |
–13.5 |
–9.1 |
| Refined | t |
186 |
4.9 |
–1.0 |
| Tin | ||||
| Mine bs | t |
1 404 |
631.3 |
3.2 |
| Titanium | ||||
| Ilmenite concentrate | kt |
427 |
–17.6 |
–20.3 |
| Leucoxene concentrate | kt |
40 |
0 |
0 |
| Rutile concentrate | kt |
63 |
–23.2 |
–4.5 |
| Synthetic rutile s | kt |
135 |
–28.2 |
–11.8 |
| Titanium dioxide pigment | kt |
63 |
28.6 |
5 |
| Uranium oxide (U3O8) | t |
2 685 |
2.6 |
–3.8 |
| Zinc | ||||
| Mine bs | kt |
367 |
–12.7 |
–9.5 |
| Refined | kt |
122 |
0 |
–7.6 |
| Zircon concentrate | kt |
111 |
–20 |
–1 |
| a Total metallic content of minerals produced. b Metallic content. p Preliminary. s ABARE estimate. na Not available. Sources: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra; Coal Services Pty Limited; Queensland Government, Department of Natural Resources and Mines; ABARE. |
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