Saturday, February 4, 2012

Australia and its Natural Resources

Australia and its Natural Resources

Australia as known as the land down under is not only known for its beautiful holiday spots but also with its inextricably intertwined natural resources and mineral exploitation. Minerals have brought a tremendous impact on Australia's human history and patterns of settlement. There are about 24 billion tons of coal reserves which is over one-quarter of which is anthracite or black coal trapped in Permian sediments in the Sydney Basin of New South Wales and in Queensland. Brown coal suitable for electricity production is found in Victoria. Australia reaches its domestic coal consumption needs with its own reserves and exports the surplus. Natural gas fields are also freely distributed throughout the country which now supplies most of Australia's domestic needs. You will also notice that there are commercial gas fields in every state and pipelines that connect those fields to major cities. It is one of the many reasons why people outside the country demand to process their visa from Australia as quickly as possible to start living in this rich country.

In just three years, the natural gas production in Australia leapt almost 14-fold from 8.6 billion cu ft (258 million cu m) in 1969 which was its first production to 110 billion cu ft (3.3 billion cu m) in 1972. It obviously tells us that Australia has trillions of tons of estimated natural gas reserves deposited in sedimentary strata distributed around the continent. On the other, Australia supplies much of its oil consumption needs domestically. Its first oil discoveries were in southern Queensland near Moonie. The country's oil production now amounts to about 2.5 million barrels per year that includes pumping from oil fields off northwestern Australia near Barrow Island, fields in the Bass Strait and Mereenie in the southern Northern Territory and these have been sites of natural gas production, too.

Australia is also rich with uranium ore deposits which are refined for fuel used for the nuclear power industry. There are about three billion tons of uranium ore reserves in Western Queensland, near Mount Isa and Cloncurry and some are in Arnhem Land in far northern Australia, Queensland and Victoria.

Iron ore reserves are also to be found in Australia mostly in Western Australia and around the Hammersley Range. The country has billions of tons of iron ore reserves which are being exported from mines in Tasmania to Japan. Western Australia is also shield with nickel deposits discovered in 1964.

Earlier in the century, gold production in Australia has been substantial and has declined from a peak production of four million ounces in 1904 to several hundred thousand fine ounces. The country is also rich with precious stones such as white and black opals, sapphires and topaz.

The continent also has a large arid land and marginal water resources that represent challenges for conservation and prudent environment management. They aim to maximize the use of these natural resources while preserving ecosystems for animal and plant life.

Find these Australia's wealth by traveling in the country for a visit. Of course you must have a valid visitor visa in Australia such as Australian holiday visas.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/destinations-articles/australia-and-its-natural-resources-4256412.html


About the Author
The author recommends visiting National Visas.com.au to apply for affordable visa from Australia through australian visa requirements online.

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