Record sales for resources sector

The state government has released its final sales and royalties figures for the resources industry for financial year 2010-11, revealing record sales of $101.2 billion.

Mines and Petroleum Minister Norman Moore said the figures confirmed that the resources sector had bounced back strongly from the global financial crisis.

“The 2010-11 figures represent an increase of 39 per cent compared to the previous year, which is particularly significant considering the 12 per cent appreciation of the Australian dollar against the US dollar during the same period,” Mr Moore said.

“Record sales values have also contributed to significant increases in Western Australia’s royalty revenue which was boosted to almost $4.9billion during the same period.”

Most of the value increase came from the iron ore, petroleum and gold sectors, which together accounted for 88 per cent, or $88.7billion, of all mineral and petroleum sales.

It is forecast Western Australia will receive $5.8billion in royalties for the 2011-12 financial year, which will contribute to almost 20 per cent of the State’s budget. 

Mr Moore attributed the increases to ongoing growth in output and prices being experienced by the State’s resources industry.

“This growth within the resources sector is vital to the State’s commitment for a high level of service delivery on targeted infrastructure development such as hospitals, transport infrastructure and future investment in energy and water,” he said.

“The commitment to ongoing improvement to the approvals process and increased exploration activities supported by the $80million Exploration Incentive Scheme through the State Government’s Royalties for Regions program has facilitated this growth.”