Direct spending data highlights contribution of mining to the NSW economy

The NSW Minerals Council’s latest annual member Expenditure Survey has found that the 28 participating mining companies directly injected $13.7 billion into the NSW economy in the last financial year, up $300 million from the previous year.

The number of mining jobs provided by the participating mining companies also increased by nearly 500 to 25,844 over the same period.

The $13.7 billion of direct mining spending in NSW in the last financial year included over $3 billion spent on wages and salaries, as well as $8.9 billion for goods and services purchased from over 7,000 mining supplier businesses in Sydney and across regional NSW.

“These jobs and expenditure numbers highlight the importance of a strong mining sector for the NSW economy and for regional mining communities across the state. The numbers also demonstrate how the NSW mining industry can provide economic strength and stability during and after the coronavirus pandemic,” NSW Minerals Council CEO Stephen Galilee said today.

“The coronavirus has changed the world as we know it.  While these figures show mining’s strong contribution to the NSW economy prior to the outbreak of this pandemic, they also highlight the important role mining will play in the coming months, maintaining jobs and economic stability as our state recovers from the crisis,” Mr Galilee said.

Surveyed companies also spent $105 million in community contributions and payments to local governments, and $2.3 billion was spent in taxes to the NSW Government, including royalties.

An economic analysis of the Survey results found that the regional economic impact of the direct spending of the 28 participating mining companies was equivalent to:

• 23% of the Gross Regional Product (GRP) of the Hunter region
• 15% of the GRP of the Central West region
• 10% of the GRP of the Illawarra region
• 14% of the GRP of the North West region
• 37% of the GRP of the Far West of NSW

“These results confirm that much of regional NSW continues to depend on mining for local jobs, investment and economic growth,” Mr Galilee said.

“As our regional communities start to recover from the economic downturn driven by the coronavirus epidemic, mining will underpin a return to economic stability for large parts of regional NSW,” he said.

A copy of the Report can be found here – https://www.nswmining.com.au/expenditure-and-jobs-surveys

Contact: Callum Fountain