The Western Australian resources industry has achieved $246 billion in sales for 2022, a record for the state.

On top of the billions recorded, the state delivered 117,970 full-time equivalent jobs in the mining industry, more jobs in the sector than ever for WA.

The Western Australian Government said these records set underline its role as the driving force behind the national economy.

2022’s resources sales increased by $15 billion in comparison to 2021’s resources sales and WA’s exploration industry continued to grow in 2022 with a record-breaking expenditure of $2.54 billion.

Sales of key minerals were high, with gold sales worth $17.8 billion, nickel sales $5.7 billion and alumina sales worth $6.9 billion.

Critical minerals spending was persistently impressive with nickel-cobalt exploration costing $267 million, copper exploration costing $195 million and other mineral exploration such as lithium and rare earth elements worth $293 million.

The iron ore industry achieved historically strong sales of $126 billion on record production of 855 million tonnes and spodumene concentrate was worth $16.3 billion in sales, six times the amount recorded in 2021.

Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Johnston said WA’s resources sector has delivered another exceptional performance.

“Creating and supporting jobs is one of the McGowan Government’s top priorities, so it’s great to see there is now more employment in the resources sector than ever before,” Johnston said.

Johnston said investing in the resources sector will continue to deliver benefits to local WA communities and underpin economic growth for years to come.

“The strong interest in the search for critical minerals is encouraging as the McGowan Government is working hard to ensure WA plays a central role in decarbonising the world’s economies,” Johnston said.

Source: Link