Mine service sector an economic powerhouse: survey

The nation’s mining equipment, technology and services (METS) sector generates more than $90 billion in revenue and contributes 6.4 per cent to the Australian economy each year, new research says.

A survey of 860 companies in the sector, 84 per cent of which are Australian-owned, showed they exported a total of $27 billion in financial year 2012, with $15 billion of that generated specifically from equipment, technology and services for the mining sector.

Prominent Western Australian METS sector participants include mining services and drilling group Ausdrill, mining contractor Macmahon, engineering groups Lycopodium and Southern Cross Electrical Engineering, and drilling equipment supplier Imdex, among a host of others.

The survey, which was conducted by Austmine, was conducted from December last year until the end of March.

“This survey is extremely timely in identifying how important mining-related knowledge, skills, manufacturing and services are to the Australian economy and the mining sector itself,” Austmine deputy chair Elizabeth Lewis-Gray said.

“Not only is the METS sector significant in size and scope, but it is highly innovative and its close collaboration with mining companies has become a source of innovation which has been leveraged to create world-leading, highly sought after mining solutions.”

The survey found METS participants spend more than $1.6 billion on research and development in FY2012, with 58 per cent of respondents contributing to the total.

“This is a very impressive number and is certainly well above other industry averages and signifies a high level of commitment to innovation,” Ms Lewis-Gray said.

“Collaboration between mining companies and with other supply companies is equally as high.”

Ms Lewis-Gray said the collaboration of firms was critical at a time when many capital projects are being deferred.

“We further need to encourage the Government to provide the right policy framework to support the mining industry as a whole including supporting the globally competitive and strategically-positioned sector that is METS.”