New research has revealed that 25 mining projects, currently in the New South Wales planning system, have the potential to deliver almost $11 billion in investment and over 13,00 jobs over the next two decades.
A report titled ‘Mine or Miss Out: Seizing opportunities for jobs and investment in NSW’ was released by the NSW Minerals Council on Monday and quantifies some of the economic benefits that the 25 mining projects, all in varying stages, will deliver to the state:
- Almost $11 billion in capital investment in NSW, driving economic activity across the state (including in regional areas).
- Creating/maintaining over 13,000 direct construction and operation jobs along with tens of thousands more jobs in businesses that support the mines.
- From 13 of the 25 projects, over $2.6 billion in royalties for NSW and millions more through income taxes, local community contributions as well as resources for regions, all critical in helping to fund schools, hospitals, police, infrastructure and other services across NSW.
The report also identified that the mining projects have the potential to deliver several regional economic and employment benefits for Hunter (over 3,400 jobs), Illawarra (nearly 1,700 jobs), Central West (over 2,100 jobs), the Lithgow/Mudgee region (more than 2,200 jobs) and the Gunnedah region (an additional 2,100 jobs).
NSW Minerals Council CEO, Stephen Galilee, said that NSW is blessed with an abundance of high-quality mineral resources, including coal and metals, which hold strong expected demand, yet the quality of these resources alone is not enough to attract the mining investment needed to ensure the state has a credible mining project development pipeline.
“Without a stable and certain policy environment that supports the mining sector, the economic benefits will be lost to NSW. New jobs and investment will go elsewhere, potentially to other Australian states and international jurisdictions where governments are actively pursuing new mining investment,” he said.
“NSW is blessed with high-quality resources combined with strong and growing demand in our region. The future of the NSW mining industry and our mining communities is linked to our ability to meet the growing demand. This will require policies that support our export sector and the tens of thousands of people working in mining and related jobs here in NSW,” Mr Galilee shared.
The NSW Minerals Council’s full report can be found here.