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Oil shale in Australia ranges from small deposits to large reserves. Deposits, varying by their age and origin, are located in about of one-third of the country in Eastern Australia. in 2012 the demonstrated oil shale reserves were estimated at 58 billion tonnes.〔 The easiest to recover deposits are located in Queensland. The developments started in the 1860s exploiting deposits in New South Wales and Tasmania. The oil shale industry stopped in 1952 and restarted only in the late 1990s. In 2012, one pilot shale oil plant and several development projects operated in Queensland and Tasmania. ==Geology and reserves== Oil shale deposits, varying by age and origin, are located in Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania.〔 As of 2012 the total amount of the demonstrated resource is estimated at 58 billion tonnes.〔 Of this about is recoverable, equating to the world's 8th largest resource.〔 〕 The oil shale deposits of Queensland and New South Wales are mainly lacustrine (torbanite and lamosite) of Cenozoic deposits, varying in size from 1 to 17.4 billion tonnes, formed in freshwater lakes in grabens, commonly in association with coal-forming swamps. Deposits with the greatest potential for commercial development are the Rundle, Stuart and Condor sites located near Gladstone, Mackay and Prosperpine in Queensland.〔 Deposits at Duaringa, Byfield, Mount Coolon, Nagoorin, Yaamba, and smaller Alpha and Carnarvon Creek deposits may also be of economic interest.〔 The marine-type oil shale tasmanite, located in Tasmania, of Permian age,〔 occurs mainly in the north-western districts, particularly in Latrobe–Railton area.〔 〕 The marinite of the Toolebuc Formation, Eromanga and Carpenteria basins in Queensland and neighbouring states is from the Early Cretaceous era.〔 The organic matter in this formation, composed largely of bituminite, liptodetrinite and lamalginite, has a hydrogen:carbon ratio about 1.1 ±0.2, which makes it highly aromatic and relatively resistant to conventional retorting technologies. Although the Toolebuc Formation is of low grade, it contains about of shale oil. It is also a potential source of Uranium and Vanadium. The most easily exploited deposit of the Toolebuc Formation, allowing open-pit mining, is located near Julia Creek.〔 〕 Other deposits are the Permian Galilee and Bowen basins in Queensland, Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, and an oil shale – heavy mineral sand deposit in southern Western Australia.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Oil shale in Australia」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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