The Australian mining industry needs to be “match-fit” in order to keep winning international investment, according to the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC).
This was a key lesson Australian stakeholders should learn from the Fraser Institute’s latest international survey of mining companies, according to AMEC chief executive officer Warren Pearce.
That research has ranked 82 different jurisdictions around the world according to their attractiveness for mining investment. The latest results showed Australian jurisdictions suffered a significant fall from investor favour over the last 12 months.
Western Australia dropped from the fourth most attractive mining jurisdiction in the world in 2023, to the 17th most attractive last year.
South Australia dropped from 19th in 2023 to 35th last year, while Queensland slid 26 rankings from 13th in 2023 to 39th in 2024.
Pearce said the dramatic slide of Australia’s jurisdictions should spark renewed action to identify uncertainty and resolve key issues across the country.
“Many of the concerns raised (in the survey) reflect what Australian industry has been saying for some time, primarily about increased uncertainty around land access and approvals,” he said.
Still, he noted that governments are responding to industry issues.
“Overall, these results should not be ignored and stress the need for decision makers to make the necessary changes that let business get on with what they know best,” he said.
“(There should be) less hurdles, less duplication and more common sense.”
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