Booming iron ore exports have increased its value to the state markedly, notably in royalties which jumped 25 per cent in 2006-07 to hit $851.1 million for the period.
Iron ore, with 41 per cent of all receipts, streaked ahead of petroluem products which earned the state $714.1 million in royalties for the period, up 5 per cent, according to the Western Australian Mineral and Petroleum Statistics Digest.
Nickel products came a distant third with $184.5 million, a jump of 113 per cent, as the state earned $2.09 billion for the period from the resources sector, acheiving growth of 21 per cent.
The Pilbara was, unsurprisingly, the state's richest region, representing 61 per cent of the value of all resources extracted for the year. Almost $32.52 billion in commodities was mined or flowed from the region.
Next was the Goldfields-Esperance region with $10.19 billion worth of minerals or 19 per cent of the state's output.
Peel came third with 9 per cent worth $4.82 billion.
The value of iron ore overall has climbed markedly as prices and output has jumped in recent years. In a decade WA has grown production to 258.3 million tonnes per annan, from 149.7mtpa. That is almost triple the value in real terms, with the 2006-07 value of $15.75 billion up from $3.93 billion in 1997-98, which is worth $5.42 billion if CPI were taken into consideration.
