Related Research Articles
The Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) is Australia's national environmental organisation. ACF is a community of over 700,000 people who speak out, show up and act for a world where forests, rivers, people and wildlife thrive. Founded in 1965, ACF has been a powerful voice for the environment for more than 50 years. It is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit organisation focused on advocacy, policy, research and community organising.
Coal pollution mitigation, sometimes called clean coal, is a series of systems and technologies that seek to mitigate the health and environmental impact of coal; in particular air pollution from coal-fired power stations, and from coal burnt by heavy industry.
Mining in Australia has long been a significant primary sector industry and contributor to the Australian economy by providing export income, royalty payments and employment. Historically, mining booms have also encouraged population growth via immigration to Australia, particularly the gold rushes of the 1850s. Many different ores, gems and minerals have been mined in the past and a wide variety are still mined throughout the country.
Coal is mined in every state of Australia. The largest black coal resources occur mainly in Queensland and New South Wales. About 70% of coal mined in Australia is exported, mostly to eastern Asia, and of the balance most is used in electricity generation. Coal production in Australia increased 13.6% between 2005 and 2010 and 5.3% between 2009 and 2010. In 2016, Australia was the biggest net exporter of coal, with 32% of global exports, and was the fourth-highest producer with 6.9% of global production. 77% of production was exported. In 2019-20 Australia exported 390 Mt of coal as was the world's largest exporter of metallurgical coal and second largest exporter of thermal coal.
The energy policy of Australia is subject to the regulatory and fiscal influence of all three levels of government in Australia, although only the State and Federal levels determine policy for primary industries such as coal. Federal policies for energy in Australia continue to support the coal mining and natural gas industries through subsidies for fossil fuel use and production. Australia is the 10th most coal-dependent country in the world. Coal and natural gas, along with oil-based products, are currently the primary sources of Australian energy usage and the coal industry produces over 30% of Australia's total greenhouse gas emissions. In 2018 Australia was the 8th highest emitter of greenhouse gases per capita in the world.
Fossil fuel phase-out is the gradual reduction of the use and production of fossil fuels to zero. It is part of the ongoing renewable energy transition. Current efforts in fossil fuel phase-out involve replacing fossil fuels with sustainable energy sources in sectors such as transport, and heating. Alternatives to fossil fuels include electrification, green hydrogen and aviation biofuel. Phase-out policies include both demand-side and supply-side constraints, whereas demand-side approaches seek to reduce fossil-fuel consumption, supply-side initiatives seek to constraint production to accelerate the pace of energy transition and reduction in emissions.
China is the largest producer and consumer of coal in the world and is the largest user of coal-generated electricity, with over a thousand coal-fired power stations. The share of coal in the energy mix declined during the 2010s, falling from 80% in 2010 to 58% in 2019, but still emits over 10% of global greenhouse gas. China's large demand was in part responsible for the delay in peak global coal production, and coal consumption in China is forecast to reach a record high in 2021.
The Australian Uranium Association was an Australian industry trade group which represented companies involved in uranium exploration, mining and export. It operated from September 2006 until 2013, after which its responsibilities were absorbed by the Minerals Council of Australia.
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a technology that can capture carbon dioxide CO
2 emissions produced from fossil fuels in electricity, industrial processes which prevents CO
2 from entering the atmosphere. Carbon capture and storage is also used to sequester CO
2 filtered out of natural gas from certain natural gas fields. While typically the CO
2 has no value after being stored, Enhanced Oil Recovery uses CO
2 to increase yield from declining oil fields.
The prospect of nuclear power in Australia has been a topic of public debate since the 1950s. Australia has never had a nuclear power station. Australia hosts 33% of the world's uranium deposits and is the world's third largest producer of uranium after Kazakhstan and Canada.
Mining in New Zealand began when the Māori quarried rock such as argillite in times prior to European colonisation. Mining by Europeans began in the latter half of the 19th century.
Greenhouse gas emissions by Australia totalled 533 million tonnes CO
2-equivalent based on Greenhouse Gas national inventory report data for 2019; representing per capita CO
2e emissions of 21 tons, three times the global average. Coal was responsible for 30% of emissions. National Greenhouse Gas Inventory estimates for the year to March 2021 were 494.2 million tonnes, which is 27.8 million tonnes, or 5.3%, lower than the previous year. It is 20.8% lower than in 2005. According to the government, the result reflects the decrease in transport emissions due to COVID-19 restrictions, reduced fugitive emissions, and reductions in emissions from electricity. There were however increased emissions from the land and agriculture sectors.
The milestones for carbon capture and storage show the lack of commercial scale development and implementation of CCS over the years since the first carbon tax was imposed.
Mark Cutifani is an Australian businessman and the current chief executive of diversified mining group, Anglo American plc where he is also a member of the Board and Group Management Committee (GMC). Cutifani is a non-executive director of Anglo American Platinum, and chairman of the De Beers Group of Companies. He is also a Non-Executive Director of Total S.A. He was formerly CEO of South African gold mining company AngloGold Ashanti. Cutifani is a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, a Board member of the Hydrogen Council. and recipient of the AusIMM Institute Medal.
The Institute for Mineral & Energy Resources (IMER) is the point of contact at the University of Adelaide for strategic research interests related to mineral and energy resources. It was founded in 2009 and launched h Australian Minister for Mineral Resource Development, Paul Holloway on 5 October 2010. The institute attracted over $18.5 million in research funding and corporate sponsorship in its first year. The IMER facilitates collaborative research between the higher education sector and industry and can take the shape of project collaboration to meet a company's specific needs, consultancy utilising academic researchers and PhD students, organisational collaboration to leverage government funding and long-term partnerships offering mutual benefits.
Daniel Zavattiero is an Australian advocate representing the interests of the nation's uranium mining sector. He is a career mining and metals marketing professional who represents the uranium mining portfolio for the Minerals Council of Australia.
Benjamin "Ben" Heard is a South Australian environmental consultant and an advocate for nuclear power in Australia, through his directorship of environmental NGO, Bright New World.
The Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission is a Royal Commission into South Australia's future role in the nuclear fuel cycle. It commenced on 19 March 2015 and delivered its final report to the Government of South Australia on 6 May 2016. The Commissioner was former Governor of South Australia, Kevin Scarce, a retired Royal Australian Navy Rear-Admiral and chancellor of the University of Adelaide. The Commission delivered 12 key recommendations, including identifying an economic opportunity in the establishment of a deep geological storage facility and the receipt of spent nuclear fuel from prospective international clients. The Commission also recommended repealing prohibitions which prevent the future development of nuclear industry in South Australia and nationally.
The established nuclear industry in South Australia is focused on uranium mining, milling and the export of uranium oxide concentrate for use in the production of nuclear fuel for nuclear power plants. The state is home to the world's largest known single deposit of uranium, which is worked by BHP at the Olympic Dam mine. Contaminated legacy sites exist at Maralinga and Emu Field, where nuclear weapons tests were conducted in the 1950s and 1960s and at former uranium mines and milling sites. Nuclear waste is stored by the CSIRO at Woomera and future waste storage prospects were considered during the deliberations of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission in 2016. The Commission has recommended that South Australia considers opportunities in nuclear waste storage, the establishment of a nuclear fuel leasing scheme and the repeal of prohibitions which currently prevent future nuclear industrial development nationally.
Asia is rich in mineral resources due to unique geographical conditions. The main minerals are petroleum, coal, iron, manganese, tin, tungsten, antimony, copper, lead, zinc, aluminum, gold, silver, mica and precious stone.
References
- ↑ Member Companies. Minerals Council of Australia. Retrieved January 2009.
- ↑ Jarvie-Eggart, Michelle E. (2015). Responsible Mining: Case Studies in Managing Social & Environmental Risks in the Developed World. SME. p. 66. ISBN 978-0873353731 . Retrieved 19 September 2017.
- ↑ "Mining Council to conduct search for oil". Canberra Times . 29 May 1946.
- ↑ Gunningham, Neil (2007). Mine Safety: Law Regulation Policy. Federation Press. p. 195. ISBN 9781862875661 . Retrieved 19 September 2017.
- ↑ World Coal Association, Members Directory
- 1 2 "Minerals Council throwing its weight around with 'amazing' coal campaign". Sydney Morning Herald .
- ↑ "What an 'amazing little black rock' did to social media". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ↑ Oliver Milman. "Mining industry's new 'coal is amazing' TV ad labelled desperate". The Guardian .
- ↑ Lenore Taylor. "Carbon capture and storage research budget slashed despite PM's coal focus". The Guardian.
- ↑ Board of Directors Minerals Council of Australia
- ↑ Zavattiero, Daniel (1 September 2017). "It's time to kick Australia's nuclear prohibition into the bin". www.minerals.org.au. Minerals Council of Australia. Archived from the original on 3 September 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
- ↑ Zavattiero, Daniel (16 March 2017). "It is time to end the ban on nuclear power in Australia". www.minerals.org.au. Minerals Council of Australia. Archived from the original on 31 March 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.
