The latest NSW Minerals Council member expenditure survey has confirmed the critical role mining plays in the Hunter, Illawarra, Central West, Tamworth, Cobar, and Dubbo regions.
Since FY12, the NSW Minerals Council has engaged an independent economist to survey NSW mining companies to measure their economic contribution to the state through jobs, taxes and money spent with local companies.
The FY24 survey group included 31 participating local mining companies.
Hunter region
Almost 16,600 jobs in the Hunter region were supported by the mining industry in FY24.
The result is an increase of almost 1300 jobs compared to FY23 and is the highest amount of jobs reported in the Hunter region in the history of the NSW Minerals Council member expenditure survey.
The survey’s participating companies also directly injected $8.8 billion into the local economy during FY24, an approximate $600 million increase from FY23 and the highest survey result ever reported. From FY12 to FY24, direct spending from mining in the Hunter region has almost doubled.
During FY24, almost $2.2 billion was spent on wages and salaries and $6.6 billion purchased goods and services from almost 2800 mining supplier businesses.
“Mining operations in the Hunter have broken local spending records for the second year in a row, while supporting a record number of local mining jobs, highlighting the importance of mining for local communities and the region’s economy,” NSW Minerals Council chief executive officer Stephen Galilee said.
Illawarra region
Participating mining companies directly injected $1.1 billion into Illawarra’s local economy during FY24, a $100 million increase from FY23 and the third highest survey result the NSW Minerals Council member expenditure survey has recorded.
The same companies directly spent $1.1 billion in Illawarra in FY24, including $242 million on wages and salaries and almost $860 million on goods and services bought from over 450 local mining supplier businesses across the region.
“Mining operations in the Illawarra region have increased local spending while supporting over 2000 local mining jobs, highlighting the importance of mining for local communities and the region’s economy,” Galilee said.
Central West region
Participating mining companies directly injected $1 billion into the Central West economy in FY24, marking the fifth consecutive year in which mining expenditure equalled $1 billion or more in the region.
The same companies also supported over 6330 jobs in the Central West, an increase of over 800 jobs compared to FY23 and the highest number of jobs reported in the region in the survey’s history.
Since the NSW Minerals Council member expenditure survey was first conducted 13 years ago, mining jobs in Central West have almost doubled. This is also the fifth year in a row in which mining jobs in the region have totalled around 5000 or more.
Almost $502 million was spent on wages and salaries and $660 million went towards goods and services purchased from over 1000 mining supplier businesses across Central West.
“Mining operations in the Central West are supporting record numbers of local jobs, and record levels of local spending, highlighting the importance of mining for local communities and the region’s economy,” Galilee said.
Tamworth region
The latest NSW Minerals Council member expenditure survey analysed the economic boost New England communities such as Narrabri, Gunnedah and Tamworth saw through mining.
Mining companies participating in the survey directly injected $550 million to the local Tamworth economy, an increase of over $120 million from FY23 and the second highest survey result ever reported in the region.
This is also the fifth consecutive year that direct mining spending in the Tamworth region exceeded $300 million.
The amount of local mining jobs also increased, with over 3500 jobs supported. This is an increase of over 1000 jobs compared to FY23.
The Tamworth local government area (LGA) provided 300 mining jobs, the Gunnedah LGA delivered 775 jobs and the Narrabri LGA provided 371 jobs.
A total of $550 million was directly spent in Tamworth in FY24, with almost $272 million going towards wages and salaries and $279 million on goods and services from over 500 local mining supplier businesses.
The Tamworth LGA directly spent $102 million and supported 133 local supply businesses, the Gunnedah LGA spent $312 million and bought from 188 local supply businesses, and the Narrabri LGA spent $97 million and supported over 118 local supply businesses.
“Mining operations in the Tamworth region have maintained local spending records while supporting over 1500 local mining jobs, highlighting the importance of mining for local communities and the region’s economy,” Galilee said.
Cobar region
Participating mining companies supported over 633 local jobs in the Cobar region in FY24.
A total of $148 million was directly spent in the region, a $15 million increase from FY23.
The expenditure is also the highest level recorded in Cobar since FY19, when the survey first recorded results for the region.
Over $76 million was spent on wages and salaries and $72 million went towards goods and services purchased from over 93 local mining supplier businesses.
“These strong results highlight the ongoing importance of mining for Cobar and the surrounding region,” Galilee said.
“Mining continues to provide economic stability to Cobar and surrounds, supporting hundreds of local families and businesses.”
Dubbo LGA
Record levels of spending and mining jobs were delivered in FY24 for the Dubbo LGA.
Participating mining companies supported over 330 local jobs, which is the highest result in the 13-year history of the NSW Minerals Council member expenditure survey.
A total of $120 million was directly injected into the Dubbo local economy, the highest level of spending recorded since the survey was first undertaken in FY12. The result is also a $13 million increase from FY23.
Over $41 million went towards wages and salaries, and $79 million was spent on goods and services bought from over 221 mining local supplier businesses.
The Dubbo LGA and its surrounding region supported over 3190 mining jobs, the second highest level reported in the area since the first NSW Minerals Council member expenditure survey was completed.
Participating mining companies also directly injected $821 million into the region’s economy, the highest level of spending in the region in the history of the survey.
The Western region also saw $821 million in direct mining spending, including over $434 million spent on wages and salaries and $387 million going towards goods and services purchased from over 731 mining supplier businesses.
“These record results highlight the importance of mining for Dubbo and the surrounding region,” Galilee said.
“Mining clearly continues to provide economic strength and stability to local communities in the region, supporting thousands of local families and businesses. These record results are a timely reminder of the need for policies that support a strong mining sector.”
An economic analysis of the FY24 NSW Minerals Council member expenditure survey found that regional impact of mining expenditure of the participating mining companies was equivalent to:
- 25 per cent of the gross regional product (GRP) of the Hunter
- 17 per cent of the GRP of Central West
- Nine per cent of the GRP of Illawarra
- 15 per cent of the GRP of the North West region
- Six per cent of the GRP of the Northern region
- 16 per cent of the GRP of the Far West region.
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