An expenditure survey from the New South Wales Minerals Council featuring 23 participating mining companies has found that they delivered $10.4 billion for the NSW economy in 2016–17.
The $10.4 billion figure included $5.9 billion from goods and services from over 6680 NSW businesses, payments to the state government and community contributions, as well as a further $2.9 billion in wages for over 22,821 full-time workers.
The mining-heavy Hunter region received the most spending overall at $4.5 billion, or 43.4 per cent.
While direct spending was down by 3.5 per cent in 2016–17 compared to 2015–16, the number of jobs was up by 8.7 per cent.
The 23 companies included in the survey are estimated to have contributed 19.1 per cent of gross regional product from NSW’s Hunter region, as well as 8.5 per cent in Central West, 7.2 per cent in the Illawarra, 6 per cent in the North West and 3.8 per cent in the North.
While full results of the survey — now in its sixth year — will not be released for the next few weeks, the results show a “strong improvement in mining jobs” that is “good news for mining communities,” according to Stephen Galilee, chief executive officer of the NSW Minerals Council.
“These survey results confirm that much of regional NSW continues to depend on mining projects for local jobs, investment and economic growth,” said Galilee.
“Ensuring the right policy settings for mining will deliver more regional jobs, more opportunities, and better times for our mining communities and regional NSW over the long term.”
Galilee also stressed Sydney’s mining strength, particularly in Western Sydney, which is home to hundreds of local businesses that provide supplies for mining.
“For example, 190 businesses located in the Local Government Area (LGA) of Parramatta received $375 million in direct mining spending, and 108 businesses located in the Fairfield LGA received $69.2 million in spending by mining companies,” he explained.