Western Australia holds more than 1050 operating mine sites (open pit, underground mines and quarries) and 169 mineral processing plants, producing more than 50 minerals.There are also over 70 operating oil and gas fields.
Statistics produced by The Department of Mines and Petroleum (DMP) reveals the scale and strength of the Western Australian resources sector.
WA Resource Sector in 2010-11:
- The value of Western Australia’s mineral and petroleum industry set a new record, reaching $101.2 billion. This represents a 39 per cent increase compared to the previous year.
- The Western Australian minerals and petroleum sectors contributed 95 per cent of the State’s total merchandise exports.
- In 2010-11, the resource sector employed 92,564 people across Western Australia.
- The Western Australian resource sector contributed $4.9 billion in Royalties, paid into the Western Australian Government Consolidated Revenue Fund.
- Overall, during the past ten years the value of Western Australia’s mineral and petroleum industry has grown on average by 17 per cent per annum.
Top 5 Commodities in Order of Value
- Iron ore – iron ore recorded an impressive $57.3 billion in total value of sales for 2010-11.
- LNG – the second most valuable commodity, with $8.7 billion in sales, and an output of 17 million tonnes.
- Crude Oil – output increased by 18 per cent to 87.6 million barrels. Sales reached $8.4 billion.
- Gold – with an overall value of $8.2 billion, Gold is Western Australia’s fourth most valuable commodity.
- Nickel – production of Nickel rose by 4 per cent, resulting in a value of $4.6 billion
These, and many more statistics, can be found in a range of reports and statistics published every year by The Department of Mines and Petroleum (DMP), such as Prospect Magazine and the Statistics Digest. Visit the Publications Section of the DMP website to view the latest edition.