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Victoria has a rich mining history that began with gold mining in the early 1800s. Recent mining efforts have concentrated more on the rich fossil fuel resources in the Victoria area. The mining of energy products in Victoria provides 90% of the energy consumed in the area.

Mining Resources

Oil and Gas

Victoria is home to mines that collect both oil and natural gas. Gippsland in the eastern portion of Victoria is where the petroleum and gas mines are concentrated. Gas production in the area provides 18% of the total natural gas production nationwide, with demand growing by an average of 2% each year. The petroleum from Victoria represents over 19% of the total oil production in Australia. Petroleum production has declined slightly in the past few years, but Victoria remains a key part of Australia’s oil production efforts.

Brown Coal

The most abundant fuel for energy that is mined in Victoria is brown coal. Coal mining efforts are centered in the Latrobe Valley, where the coal is mined and there are several energy production plants. Over 66 million tonnes of brown coal are mined from the Latrobe Valley on an annual basis, making brown coal the most plentiful mineral in Australia. The Latrobe Valley mine is home to the largest concentration of brown coal in the entire world.

Gold Mining History

Gold mining has a rich history in the Victoria area, though it has dwindled to a mere 1% of Australia’s overall gold production. During the height of the Victoria gold rush it is said that 25,000 to 30,000 people converged on a few small claims to try their luck at finding gold. The rush halted an epidemic of Victorian men leaving the area and helped keep Victoria a strong and vibrant city throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. In the early 1900s many of the mines closed when the gold began to become scarce. In the late 1980s the Stawell gold mine was reopened and it continues to operate to the present day. The mine does not produce gold in the quantities that were found during the initial gold rush, but it still provides enough of the mineral to remain in operation.