PERTH (miningweekly.com) – A new survey by the Chamber of Minerals and Energy (CME) for Western Australia has found that the state’s mining, oil and gas, energy and contractor industries contributed a direct A$83-billion to Australia’s economy in 2019/20 and directly provided more than 94 000 full-time jobs.

The survey of 65 resource sector companies showed the extent to which the Western Australian mining and resources sector underpinned economies and communities around the state, and also across Australia, said CME CEO Paul Everingham.

“The resource sector workforce should be extremely proud of the way our sector has been able to operate both safely and effectively during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The results of this survey capture only a snapshot of our sector’s direct contribution to the broader economy, so the ‘real’ figure is likely to be significantly more than the A$83-billion.

“It has taken a significant amount of collaboration to keep operating safely during the pandemic, including working with government, health authorities, police, aviation and port partners,” Everingham said.

The annual economic factsheets produced out of the report show that the direct contribution to the Western Australian economy was nearly A$52-billion, with more than A$47.9-billion spent by 65 CME member companies on purchasing goods and services from more than 14 700 businesses, and financially supporting more than 770 community organisations and 68 local governments nationally.

The survey also found that more than A$10-billion in wages and salaries were paid to more than 69 000 full-time workers. Those member companies also employed a further 24 665 full-time contractors.

Furthermore, more than A$7.7-billion was contributed in state government payments, with more than A$18-billion contributed to the federal government.

Additionally, the analysis found supply chain spending by the 65 member companies created an additional 214 999 full-time jobs and generated A$38.9-billion in gross value add to the Australian economy. Some of this value add is created through the sector’s demand for construction, exploration, mining support, financial and other goods and services, said Everingham.

“Both the direct and indirect contributions of CME’s member companies spread far and wide throughout communities around Western Australia and, indeed, across Australia.

“In fact, our sector supports one in six full-time jobs in Western Australia and at least one in 20 businesses have resource sector companies within their customer bases.

“With more than A$140-billion of projects in the Western Australian resources sector pipeline, these types of contributions should continue to flow through for decades to come. That’s why it’s so important that both industry and government continue to tackle key challenges like current and future skills shortages, in order to fully capitalise on the significant opportunities we have in front of us.”

The data collected from 65 member companies covers more than 150 operational sites across the state, representing 70% of the state’s resources sector by production.