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Survey of Energy Resources 2007

Coal Country Notes:

Australia is endowed with very substantial coal resources, with its proved recoverable reserves ranking 4th  in the world. The major deposits of black coal (bituminous and sub-bituminous) are located in New South Wales and Queensland, especially in the Sydney and Bowen basins; smaller but locally important resources occur in Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania. The main deposits of brown coal are in Victoria, the only State producing this rank. Other brown coal resources are present in Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania.

The coal resource data included in the present Survey have been derived from Australia's Identified Mineral Resources 2006, published by Geoscience Australia. The proved amount of coal in place (reflecting 'Economic Demonstrated Reserves (EDR)') comprises 55.8 billion tonnes of black coal, (including an estimated 3.3 billion tonnes of sub-bituminous) and 41.5 billion tonnes of brown coal/lignite. Within these tonnages, the proportion deemed to be recoverable ranges from 39.2 billion tonnes (70%) of the bituminous coal to 90%, 37.4 billion tonnes of the lignite. A little over half of the recoverable bituminous, and all of the recoverable lignite, are surface-mineable. About 36% of Australia's massive reserves of bituminous coal are of coking quality. The maximum depth of the deposits ranges from 600 m in the case of bituminous coal to 200 m for sub-bituminous and 300 m for lignite. Minimum seam thicknesses are 0.3, 1.5 and 3.0 m, respectively.

'Subeconomic demonstrated resources' and 'inferred resources', additional to the proved amount in place, are vast: Geoscience Australia's current assessment puts those of black coal at 108 billion tonnes, of which 68 billion tonnes is estimated to be recoverable. Comparable figures for brown coal are 174 billion tonnes and 156 billion tonnes, respectively.

For a variety of reasons (e.g. environmental restrictions, government policies, military lands), not all of the tonnages classified as EDR are currently accessible: black coal reserves are only slightly affected, but the 'Accessible EDR' of brown coal are put at 30 billion tonnes, significantly lower than the quoted level of EDR, although still massive in tonnage terms.
In 2005 Australia produced 308 million tonnes of saleable black coal (bituminous and sub-bituminous) and 71 million tonnes of brown coal. The major domestic market for black coal is electricity generation: in 2004, power stations accounted for 85% of total black coal consumption, with the other major consumer being the iron and steel industry. Brown coal is used almost entirely for power generation.

Australia has been the world's largest exporter of hard coal since 1984: in 2005, it exported 233 million tonnes. About 54% of 2005 exports were of metallurgical grade (coking coal), destined largely for Japan, the Republic of Korea, India and Europe.