Australia’s natural resources are a major part of their economy, they produce everything from minerals, energy reserves, and precious metals. This includes copper, zinc, nickel, silver, natural gas, coal, and uranium (Cohen, 2022). They are also the world’s largest producer of opal and the largest exporter of coal (Boudreau et al., 2022). The access Australia has to these resources has done amazing things for the employment rate in the country, all while also ensuring the safety of the workers gathering these natural resources. They have used the jobs in their growing natural resources market to help the indegenous Aboriginals find work. The taxation and royalties from the natural resource sector in Australia has been able to provide billions of dollars that have funded public infrastructure for hospitals, schools, and roads (Dept. of Industry, Science, and Resources, 2022).
Since the 1880’s Australia has become the world’s main source of opal, today Australia is producing 95% of the world’s opal (Department of the Prime Minister, 2020). Although opal can be found in a few other countries around the world it is most abundant in Australia, and opal fields can be found throughout the country, as shown on the map in figure 2. There are four main types of opal that Australia is rich in which include black opal, white opal, boulder opal, and Yowah nut opal (Clark, 2022).
Figure 2
Map of Australian Opal Fields
Cannington is Australia’s largest underground silver mine, it is located in north-west Queensland (Geoscience Australia, 2016). In 2013 the Cannington mine was the world’s largest single silver producing mine, and excavated over 1,247 tons of silver just in 2005 (Bullion, 2018). The location of Australian silver mines can be seen in figure 3, the map shows the abundance of silver mines that can be found throughout Australia. Australia’s silver resources outnumber the amount of silver found in Mexico, Canada, and The United States (The Silver Institute, 2022). Silver mines have been a part of Australia’s history for a long time, and as more silver was found it became clear that the country was rich in silver throughout. Besides jewelry, silver can be used for 3D printing, water purification, and solar panels (Mineral Council of Australia, 2018).
Figure 3
Map of Australian Silver Mines
