PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Australia’s diamond exports increased by 51%, to reach A$89-million during the December quarter, while bauxite exports increased by 50%, to A$45-million, compared with the September quarter, newly released statistics show.

The Australian Bureau of Agriculture and Resource Economics (Abare) on Thursday released the ‘Australian mineral statistics 2010’ report for the December quarter of 2009.

The report indicated that value of mineral exports rose across the board, with manganese ore and concentrate exports climbing 33%, to A$315-million, while iron and steel exports increased by 12%, to A$225-million.

Abare stated that export earnings for energy and mineral resources increased by 1% to A$30,8-billion in the December quarter 2009, compared with the September quarter.

Commodities which recorded significant declines in export earnings in the December quarter, included uranium oxide, which was down 37% to A$182-million, thermal coal, down 9% to A$2,9-billion; metallurgical coal, down 7% to A$5,3-billion; and iron-ore and pellets, down 5% to A$6,8-billion.

HIGHER OUTPUT

Mineral production was higher in the three-month period when compared with the September quarter, with more than half of the commodities recording increases.

Increased production was recorded for intermediate nickel, which was up 160%, diamonds, which increased by 53%, iron and steel production, which increased 14% and refined nickel, which increased 13%.

Diamond production increased significantly during the December quarter as a result of increased production from Rio Tinto’s Argyle mine, in Western Australia. Iron and steel production rose mainly as a result of higher production from Bluescope’s Port Kembla and Onesteel’s Whyalla operations.

For nickel, increased production, both refined and intermediate, was a result of higher output from BHP Billiton’s Nickel West operations, in Western Australia.

Abare noted that significant production declines occurred for uranium oxide, which was down 39%, mined zinc, which was down 26% and refined copper, which was down 11%.

Uranium oxide and refined copper production declined in the December quarter because of the production disruption at BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam, in South Australia, in October. The prime haulage shaft, which transports 75% of the mine’s ore to the surface, suffered a mechanical failure.

Zinc production declined as a result of reduced production from Minmet’s Century mine, in Queensland, because of damage to the main pipeline that transports zinc concentrates from the mine to the export port.

Meanwhile, the production of saleable and raw black coal also decreased in the December quarter, partially reflecting lower production at BHP Billiton’s coal operations.

Despite lower saleable production, export volumes of both metallurgical and thermal coal increased slightly in the quarter. Exports of metallurgical coal increased to 39,4-million tons, while thermal coal exports reached 35,6-million tons.

In the December quarter, export unit returns for metallurgical and thermal coal decreased by 10% and 11%, respectively, compared with the September quarter. Lower export prices more than offset a slight increase in export volumes, with the value of black coal exports declining by 8% to A$8,2-billion.

CURRENCY FACTOR

Gold-mine production rose by 9% to 60 t in the December quarter 2009, compared with the September quarter, mainly supported by the start-up of Newmont’s Boddington redevelopment, in Western Australia, and increased production from several larger operations.

Refined gold production was unchanged at 87 t while export volumes rose by 8% to 81 t.

Abare added that a strong rise in the US dollar-denominated gold price was partly offset by the appreciation of the Australian dollar, which led to a 4% rise in unit export returns. As a result of both increased export volumes and the higher Australian dollar denominated gold price, export earnings increased by 13% to A$3-billion in the December quarter.

TOUGH 2009

Overall in 2009, earnings from Australia’s mineral resource exports declined by 14% to A$131-billion as a result of substantially lower prices in the year for many commodities. This included lower contract prices for the 12-months starting April 2009, for iron-ore, metallurgical coal and thermal coal, which fell by 33%, 57% and 44% respectively.

There was also downward pressure placed on export earnings by lower export volumes and the prices of most base metals, particularly in the first half of the year, Abare said on Thursday.

The main contributors to lower mineral export earnings in 2009 were metallurgical coal, which decreased by A$7,3-billion to A$24,7-billion; alumina, down A$1,6-billion to A$4,7-billion; aluminium, down A$1,6-billion to A$3,6-billion; nickel, down A$1,2-billion to A$3-billion; and manganese ores and concentrates, down A$1-billion to A$1-billion.

Gold recorded the largest increase in export earnings in 2009, increasing by A$875-million to A$14,2-billion. This was largely because of a surge in the export of refined gold derived from scrap sourced mainly from Asian markets, as a result of strong global investment demand for gold.

Mineral and energy resource production in 2009 was generally lower than in 2008, with 60% of commodities recording lower production in 2009. This was because of lower prices for several commodities, mine closures and disruptions over the year.

Abare said that the commodities that recorded significant declines in production included iron and steel, diamonds, mined silver, mined zinc, refined copper, and mined nickel.

Commodities that recorded production increases in 2009 included tin, iron-ore and coal. Higher tin production during the year was a result of increased production at the Metals X’s Renison tin mine, in Tasmania, while higher iron-ore and coal production was supported by strong import demand from China for both commodities.