The last decade has seen a spectacular increase in the growth of the Australian coal industry as a result primarily of the development of new mines in the Bowen basin of central Queensland. Queensland coal production has risen from less than 3 million tons in 1964 to over 18 million tons in 1973. Projected output in 1978 will be in excess of 34 million tons. This growth has followed the discovery of deposits of premium-grade metallurgical coal ideally suited for Japanese coke oven blends. These coals also have found recent acceptance in European steel mills, and 25% of the output of the largest producer, Utah Development Co., is now committed to this market. Also contributing to the industry's rapid growth is the amenability of the deposits to extraction by open-cut metho s, and the proximity of the coalfields to good harbors in relatively unpopulated areas. The recent downturn in exploration has been the result of government policy to rationalize the utilization of the nation's coal resources, and to allow time for a reassessment of gross reserves. Previous estimates now have been upgraded dramatically. Gross reserves of New South Wales coal are assessed at over 100,000 million tons; 16,000 million tons of this are classified as first category. Queensland's gross reserves of first-category reserves have been assessed at nearly 9,000 million tons. Government and private company exploration now is being directed to less well-known coal basins and is expected further to increase the country's known reserves. Exploration programs now planned include a number to prove coal deposits for possible hydrocarbon generation in the Queensland Galilee basin and others to locate noncoking coal in southwestern and northwestern Western Australia. Work also is proceeding in delineating a large deposit of low-grade steam coal newly discovered in South Australia.

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