Data released by the Australian Geological Survey (GA, Geoscience Australia) at the annual meeting of the Prospecting and Developers (PDAC) in Toronto, Canada shows that the country's key mineral resources have grown significantly.

In 2018, Australian tantalum resources increased by 79%, lithium increased by 68%, platinum group metals and rare earth metals increased by 26%, potassium increased by 24%, vanadium increased by 17%, and cobalt increased by 11%.

GA believes that the main reason for the increase in resources is the increase in demand and the rise in new discoveries.

Keith Pitt, Minister of Federal Resources, Water and North Australian Affairs, said these key minerals are used to produce mobile phones, LCD screens, chips, magnets, batteries, and other emerging technologies that promote economic development and technological progress. Required raw materials.

However, Australian diamond, bauxite and phosphorus resources have declined.

According to the production rate in 2018, the recoverable life of Australian coal, uranium, nickel, cobalt, tantalum, rare earth and ore is more than 100 years. The harvest period is 50-100 years. Manganese, antimony, gold and diamond can be mined for less than 50 years.

Australia's Identified Mineral Resources (AIMR) is one of several publications issued by the government on PDAC.

Pitt revealed that at the PDAC conference earlier this week, GA, on behalf of the Australian Government, signed and cooperated with the Geological Survey of Canada, and the two parties will jointly study the potential of Australian mineral resources. In 2019, GA also signed a key mineral research cooperation agreement with the US Geological Survey. In Australia, the Critical Minerals Development Office (CMFO) will support critical mineral projects to obtain investment, financing and market access. This will provide employment opportunities for thousands of Australians in the trade and manufacturing sectors in the future.