Australia’s role as a resource powerhouse is changing due to global economic forces beyond its control: the fall in oil prices and the record-smashing increase in the price of gold. The country and continent are rich in deposits of iron ore, its number one export, as well as copper, coal, aluminum, lithium and natural gas. Australia also has vast reserves of gold, found for example at the Boddington open-pit mine in Western Australia owned by US-based miner Newmont; the Cadia mine in New South Wales known for its gold and copper production;…