Scale: The NSW minerals industry is one of the biggest sectors in NSW, producing about $12 billion of resources each year with exports worth more than $8 billion. It is equivalent in size to the State’s entire farm sector including wool, crops and livestock.
Employment: The NSW mining industry currently employs around 21,000 people, with a further 26,000 employed in mining processing, mainly in rural and regional areas including the Hunter Valley, Namoi Valley, Lake Macquarie area, Broken Hill, Lithgow, Illawarra, Cobar and Orange. A further 250,000 jobs in NSW are reliant on the minerals industry.
Return to government: The NSW minerals industry contributes more than a billion dollars to government in royalty payments and state and federal taxes ($1.5 billion in FY 2005). The NSW Government is by far the largest single beneficiary, receiving around 50 per cent of pre-tax profits. The Federal Government receives a further 25 per cent. As the largest customer of the State-owned NSW rail network and the ports of Newcastle and Port Kembla, the industry also pays over half a billion dollars ($700 in FY 2005) to government towards the cost of these facilities as well as other service costs such as water and electricity.
Composition: In NSW, coal accounts for around 80 per cent of the total value of mineral production. Metallic minerals (gold, silver, lead, zinc, copper, tin, antimony and titanium), industrial minerals (gemstones, limestone, clays, etc) and construction materials (sand, gravel, stone, etc) account for 20 per cent.
Mine rehabilitation: Mining is a temporary use of the land. Following mining, the land is returned to a stable and self-sustaining condition. The minerals industry in Australia has spent $2.8 billion rehabilitating closed operations. As well as ongoing rehabilitation works, mining companies in NSW have set aside around $320 million in rehabilitation security bonds.
Contribution to NSW economy, businesses and communities: The NSW minerals industry is the state’s largest materials exporter - coal exports alone are sufficient to power the current electricity requirements of New Zealand, Indonesia and Singapore. Mining companies in NSW spend more than $1 billion a year on local and regional suppliers, and contribute more than $5 million a year for amenities in the communities amongst whom they operate. Coal supplied by the NSW mining industry generates more than 90 per cent of the electricity used in NSW.