Australia is one of the most heavily mined countries on Earth, with roughly 480 major operating mines spread across nearly every state and territory. These mines extract more than two dozen different minerals, from iron ore and coal to gold, lithium, copper, and rare earth elements. In 2024-25, resource and energy exports earned the country approximately $385 billion.
What Australia Mines and How Much
Gold leads the count with around 160 operating mines nationwide. Black coal follows with 93, then iron ore at 41, copper at 36, silver at 26, zinc at 17, nickel at 16, and lead at 15. Smaller but strategically important commodities include lithium (7 mines), bauxite (9), cobalt (6), manganese (3), uranium (2), and rare earth elements (2). The mining sector directly employs about 297,500 people.
Iron Ore in the Pilbara
The Pilbara region in Western Australia’s northwest is the engine room of Australia’s mining economy. Iron ore is the country’s single largest export earner, accounting for roughly one-quarter of all resource and energy revenue. Three companies dominate the region: Rio Tinto, BHP, and Fortescue.
Rio Tinto operates the most individual sites, running mines like Mount Tom Price, Marandoo, Brockman 2 and 4, Gudai-Darri, Hope Downs, Nammuldi, Paraburdoo, Yandicoogina, and several others across the Shires of Ashburton and East Pilbara. BHP runs six major operations including South Flank, Jimblebar, Yandi, and Area C, all clustered in the Shire of East Pilbara. Fortescue operates Christmas Creek, Cloud Break, Eliwana, Firetail, Kings Valley, and Queens Valley.
New Pilbara projects continue to come online. Rio Tinto’s $2.9 billion Western Range mine began commercial production in June 2025 in a joint venture with China’s Baowu. The company also announced a $2.8 billion investment in its Brockman Syncline 1 project, with first production expected in 2027. A $2.5 billion expansion at Hope Downs 2, a collaboration between Rio Tinto and Hancock Prospecting, received full approvals in mid-2025 and is targeting the same timeline.
Coal in Queensland and New South Wales
Australia’s coal mining is concentrated in two major basins. The Bowen Basin in Central Queensland stretches roughly 60,000 square kilometres from Collinsville in the north to Theodore in the south. It contains the country’s largest coal reserves and virtually all of Queensland’s mineable prime coking coal, the type used in steelmaking. As of 2015 reporting, the basin held 42 operational mines pulling out more than 150 million tonnes annually. Black coal mining across all of Australia now runs at 93 operating sites.
The Bowen Basin connects geologically beneath the Surat Basin to the Gunnedah and Sydney Basins in New South Wales, which host their own cluster of thermal coal operations. NSW mines primarily supply coal for electricity generation and export. Five coal projects reached completed status over 2025, keeping the pipeline active despite global shifts toward renewables.
Gold Mines From Coast to Desert
With 160 operating gold mines, Australia produces gold from Western Australia, New South Wales, the Northern Territory, and beyond. The five largest by output in 2023 were:
- Boddington (Western Australia): Owned by Newmont, this open-pit mine produced about 786,000 ounces in 2023, making it the country’s biggest gold producer. It’s expected to operate until 2036.
- Cadia (New South Wales): Also Newmont-owned, this underground mine near Orange produced around 590,000 ounces and has a mine life extending to 2052.
- Tanami (Northern Territory): A Newmont underground mine in the remote Tanami Desert, producing roughly 481,000 ounces with operations planned through 2033.
- Tropicana (Western Australia): Owned by AngloGold Ashanti, this combined surface and underground mine produced about 437,000 ounces. Mine life runs to 2033.
- Kalgoorlie (Western Australia): Owned by Northern Star Resources, this is the famous “Super Pit” and surrounding operations, producing around 432,000 ounces with a mine life to 2035.
Three of the top five are in Western Australia, which has been the heart of Australian gold mining since the 1890s gold rush.
Lithium Mines and Global Supply
Australia is the world’s largest lithium producer by weight. As of 2023, 53% of the global annual lithium supply comes from Australian mines, with 96% of that exported to China for processing into battery-grade material. Australia overtook Chile for the top spot in 2017.
The Greenbushes mine in Western Australia’s southwest is the world’s largest hard-rock lithium mine. Co-operated by Tianqi Lithium, Talison Lithium, and IGO Limited, it contributed about 40% of all lithium mined in Australia in 2021 and produced over one million tonnes of spodumene concentrate in the year to July 2022.
The Pilgangoora lithium-tantalum project, also in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, is the other major operation. Owned by Pilbara Minerals after it acquired the site from bankrupt Altura Mining for A$201 million in 2021, Pilgangoora recently completed its P1000 expansion, a $560 million upgrade. A new lithium refinery at Kwinana, south of Perth, also reached completion in 2025, marking a step toward processing lithium domestically rather than shipping raw concentrate overseas.
Copper, Nickel, and Base Metals
Australia operates 36 copper mines, 16 nickel mines, 17 zinc mines, and 15 lead mines. The standout is Olympic Dam in South Australia, one of the world’s largest underground mines. Owned by BHP, it produces copper, uranium, gold, and silver from a single massive ore body. The current smelter and refinery handle about 200,000 tonnes of copper cathode per year, but BHP is planning a major expansion that would increase capacity to up to 650,000 tonnes, more than tripling output.
The Broken Hill lead-zinc-silver deposit in western New South Wales has been mined continuously since 1883 and has produced more than 200 million tonnes of high-grade ore over its lifetime. Mount Isa in northwest Queensland is another long-running base metal hub, yielding copper, lead, zinc, and silver. Nickel mining is centered in Western Australia, particularly around Kambalda and more recent discoveries like the Nova mine. Several newer finds in greenfield areas, including DeGrussa (copper-gold) and West Musgrave (nickel-copper), have expanded the geographic spread of base metal mining.
Rare Earths and Critical Minerals
Australia currently has two operating rare earth mines, but this number is set to grow. Lynas’ Mount Weld mine in Western Australia is nearing completion of an expansion. Iluka Resources is building an $1.8 billion rare earths refinery at Eneabba in Western Australia, expected to be commissioned in 2027. Arafura’s $1.8 billion Nolans Project in the Northern Territory is at a late stage, with a final investment decision expected in early 2026.
Other critical mineral projects in the pipeline include Australia’s first gallium project, announced by Alcoa Australia in August 2025, and a $1.2 billion graphite project called Esmeralda, which secured major US export financing and is targeting first production in 2028. These projects reflect a broader push to mine and refine critical minerals domestically rather than export raw materials for processing elsewhere.
Where Mines Are Concentrated by State
Western Australia hosts the largest share of the country’s mines by far, covering iron ore, gold, lithium, nickel, copper, and mineral sands. Queensland is the coal heartland and also produces copper, zinc, bauxite, and gold. New South Wales contributes coal, gold (particularly the Cadia mine), and base metals around Broken Hill. South Australia’s mining identity centers on Olympic Dam but also includes copper and mineral sands operations. The Northern Territory contributes gold (Tanami), manganese, and uranium. Tasmania and Victoria have smaller mining footprints, with Tasmania producing tin and zinc and Victoria historically reliant on brown coal, though that sector is shrinking.