MOST COMMON MINERALS MINED IN AUSTRALIA

June 23, 2016

When we take a break from studying mining equipment, machinery that’s designed to work around the clock in our biggest mines and quarries, we don’t sit back and sip tea. Instead, we change gear and discover why Australia is the home of such pedigreed tools. In short, we take a look at the common minerals mined in Australia, the gold, diamonds, and other precious resources that require these advanced engineering solutions. Here, let’s take a whirlwind tour of these earthen facilities and their mined commodities.

RARE EARTH MINERALS

Western Australia and the Northern Territories both enjoy relatively dense deposits of these seventeen elements, which is a lucky break since such minerals are economically troublesome to mine and harder to find in viable quantities. Described by some as “the seeds of technology,” this rarefied class includes Neodymium (Used in electromagnets) and Yttrium (Radar technology).

AUSTRALIAN BAUXITE DOMINATES THE GLOBE

No other nation is blessed with a larger deposit (aluminium.org.au) of this aluminium-rich material. The lightweight metal is sourced from Queensland and Western Australia in huge quantities, with the Boddington Bauxite region located a mere 120 kilometres Southwest of Perth. The mineral consists of numerous oxidised aluminium compounds and a significant quantity of silica. Australian bauxite is used to manufacture everything from aeroplane parts to food cans.

FOSSIL FUEL STOCKPILES

The other black gold, coal, was first discovered in large quantities in and around Newcastle. As the continent spread out from New South Wales, more mountainous deposits of the important solid fuel followed, leading to steam powered machinery and the nation’s own industrial revolution. Still regarded as a major though not necessarily clean energy source, steam turbines feed on coal as its mined from New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria.

CRUSHING GOLD-LOADED ROCKS

We’ve often referred to alloy-reinforced crushers and screens. The machinery is designed to collect mined rocks and break the hard, coarse matter down into smaller chunks. Once reduced to a manageable size, gold is revealed, for Australia operates a chain of majorly active gold mines that work in this manner across every state, with Western Australia leading the pack.

The story isn’t over, but we’ve gone some way towards defining the quantity and quality of common minerals mined in Australia. Copper, lead, and silver also top the mine chart. Diamonds, more than eight-hundred million carats worth, have been separated from mines in Western Australia, and, finally, Uranium, a rare and dangerously radioactive element, is mined as the mineral uraninite throughout Australia.

Screening Technology Pty Ltd T/AS Hawk Machinery

Address: 7 Lantana St Blackburn North Vic 3130
Contact Person: Bohdan Blaszczyk
Phone: +61 3 9877 7777
Fax: +61 3 9877 8177
Mobile: 0411 099 989

Email: info@hawkmachinery.com.au

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