Strong WA resources sector underpinning Australian economy
Welcome to the 2012 edition of the Western Australian
Mining Club’s
Minesite
publication.
What a year it has been for the resources industry in
this state. Despite continued global economic uncertainty,
Western Australia has gone from strength to strength.
In FY2012, the value of Western Australia’s minerals
and petroleum sector was an estimated $106 billion.
This was approximately $5 billion higher than the
previous year.
Mining and petroleum dominate Western Australia’s
merchandise exports, accounting for around 90% of the
state’s total merchandise exports. China remains the
state’s largest market, taking more than 40%, followed by
Japan with around 20%.
However, rather than rest on our laurels, the state
government is committed to the responsible development
of the resources industry for the benefit of all
Western Australians.
The expertise of the Department of Mines and
Petroleum and the Department of State Development,
along with the assistance of other state agencies, is
helping to support this growth.
Western Australia continues to be a world-leading
investment destination for the resources sector. There
are currently more than $167 billion worth of projects
either committed or under consideration during the
next few years. These projects will create around
50,000
construction jobs and more than 10,000
permanent jobs.
The state government’s Exploration Incentive Scheme
(
EIS) is helping find the resources of tomorrow, today.
By the end of June 2016 a total of $138.1 million will
have been committed to the EIS program since its start
in 2009.
The program supports innovative drilling projects in
underexplored areas of the state, and has already led to
a number of new mineral discoveries including Speewah
Dome, Yeneena, Tropicana East and Theseus.
The state government’s faith in the prospectivity of
Western Australia is reflected in industry’s continued
investment in exploration across the state. Last year, WA
attracted the bulk of Australia’s mineral and petroleum
exploration expenditure. Of the $4 billion spent on
mineral exploration across Australia, $2.1 billion, or 53%,
was spent in Western Australia.
The coming years will also see internationally
significant projects completed or nearing completion;
projects such as Gorgon, Wheatstone, Roy Hill, Rio’s
Cape Lambert expansion and the Sino Iron project, just
to name a few.
I can assure you the state government will do what it
can to build on the remarkable success we have seen in
the resources industry in recent years. I look forward to
seeing what the coming year brings for this great state
of ours.
Hon Colin Barnett MLA
Premier of Western Australia;
Minister For State Development
Rapid progress at Rio Tinto's
Cape Lambert port expansion, October 2012,
on track for completion by 2015
MINESITE 2012
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