Coal mining industry gross value added Australia 2012-2022
Coal mining economic contribution
Employment in the coal mining industry has declined over the past decade, however tens of thousands of people are still included in the coal mining workforce. Australia is one of the world’s largest exporters of coal. With China being the largest coal consuming country in the world, recent tensions have cast uncertainty on trade relations, including the export of Australian coal.
Coal mining companies
UK-Australian based BHP and Rio Tinto were among the leading mining companies worldwide. These multinational companies have a diverse mining portfolio that includes Australian coal. This comes as no surprise as Australia has coal reserves totaling almost 150 billion metric tons. BHP has indicated it will review its planned coal mining expenditure in 2021, with the recent global COVID-19 pandemic causing market uncertainty.