Iron ore remains Western Australia’s most valuable sector despite ongoing price volatility and uncertainty, accounting for almost two-thirds of total resources sales in 2011-12, a new report has found.
The state's total resources sales rose by four per cent to reach $106 billion in 2011-12, according to the state government’s Mineral and Petroleum Statistics Digest.
Western Australia continues to attract the lion’s share of investment in the nation’s resources industry, attracting 55 per cent of Australia’s total mining investment in 2011-12.
The report also found that mineral and petroleum exports now account for 91 per cent of the state’s merchandise exports earnings.
Another positive was that WA’s mineral exploration expenditure jumped more than 30 per cent to an all-time high of $2.1 billion.
Iron ore remained the State’s most valuable sector with $61.1 billion in sales, while petroleum delivered $23.8 billion and gold $9.3 billion. The total value of mineral sands jumped 86 per cent to $879 million.
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is the state’s most valuable petroleum product, despite LNG output decreasing 9 per cent from the previous year to 15 million tonnes.
In operational terms, the state hosted 65 oil and gas fields and 975 mines, producing more than 50 different minerals.
Mines and Petroleum Minister Norman Moore said the government had aimed to “help projects get off the ground”, with mines receiving government approval in a 28-month time period on average over the past four years.
“These latest figures can be attributed not only to the sheer wealth of resources, political stability and sound regulation in WA, but also to the Liberal National government’s tireless work when it comes to positioning the state as a destination of choice for responsible resources exploration and development,” he said.
