Western Australia’s mineral and petroleum industries reported sales have lifted to $145 billion for 2018-19.
The figures, released by the state’s Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, reveal a $30 billion increase in sales, compared to 2017-18. The upswing was the result of improved iron ore prices and increasing LNG volumes.
The number of people employed in WA’s mining industry continues to grow, with the average number of individuals employed in the sector in 2018-19 increased to 124,010, up from 112,008 the previous year.
Iron ore sales reached a record $78.2 billion in 2018-19 and gold sales reached an all-time high of almost $12 billion with the Australian dollar gold price at record levels.
Alumina and bauxite sales reached a record $8.3 billion following continued increases in bauxite exports and LNG sales increased more than 50 per cent to reach almost $29 billion.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, almost $17 billion was invested in the State’s mining industry, representing about 51 per cent of national expenditure.
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