PERTH (miningweekly.com) – With the decline in commodity prices, the mining sector’s contribution to the New South Wales economy has declined from A$13.6-billion in 2013/14, to A$11.3-billion in 2014/15.

The New South Wales Minerals Council this week reported in its latest Expenditure Survey that the A$11.3-billion of spending included A$2.7-billion in wages and salaries and A$7.3-billion on purchases of goods and services.

Research also showed that 6%, or more than 1-in-20 jobs in the Sydney local government area (LGA), were supported by the mining industry.

“Most people don’t realise that Sydney is a significant mining region, but the reality is that there are many suburbs of Sydney, particularly in Western Sydney, that benefit from mining industry spending,” said New South Wales Minerals Council CEO Stephen Galilee. 

“For example, the LGA of Parramatta received A$392-million in direct mining spending on purchases from 154 local supplier businesses, with A$65-million spent in the Fairfield LGA on 112 local businesses.”

The Hunter region remained the beating heart of the state’s mining sector, Galilee said, noting that the region accounted for A$4.8-billion, or 42%, of direct expenditure by mining in New South Wales.

“All commodity-based industries go through cyclical downturns, and mining is experiencing its toughest cyclical downturn in recent memory. This is having an impact beyond the New South Wales mining sector itself, with total direct spending on supplier purchases and the number of businesses supplying the sector falling by around a quarter over the past three years,” Galilee said.

However, he noted that despite these tough times, the number of direct mining jobs supported remained steady at 21 265, representing a relatively small drop over the last three years, while the number of local community groups supported by mining had increased from 912 to 1 298 over the same period.

“Lower mining spending across fewer mining supplier businesses demonstrates that when mining is hurting, the pain is felt across the rest of the economy too. Yet despite the tough times, our sector continues to be an essential pillar of regional economies across New South Wales, contributing 23% of gross regional product (GRP) in the Hunter, 8.3% of GRP in the Illawarra, and 10.6% of GRP in the Central West of New South Wales.”