On Monday, Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia, Keith Pitt, said a growing pipeline of projects attracting major investment will ensure Australia’s resources and energy sector remains a significant long term contributor to Australia’s economy, creating thousands more jobs.
Released this week by the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources (DISER), the 2020 Resources and Energy Major Projects report outlines a 19 per cent increase in the number of resources and energy projects under development in 2020 compared to the previous year.
Minister Pitt said the report demonstrates Australia’s strength as an exploration and investment destination.
“The resources sector has provided the bedrock for the Australian economy through COVID and this confirmation of growing investment shows how important it will be to the Coalition Government’s COVID recovery strategy going forward,” he said.
“It’s been the capital investments of the past decade that supported the industry, and our economy, through 2020 and it’s good to see there’s a lot more investment on the way.”
“The benefits to Australia from the investment pipeline will be significant.”
“There is $39 billion in committed project investment and more than $100 billion in early-stage projects that are likely to proceed,” Minister Pitt commented.
The report highlights 335 major projects under development, over 50 more than this time last year, covering around 20 commodities. Several significant factors have driven this growth including record gold prices, which have seen a surge of investment in gold production, with a number of Australian mines returning to production. Exploration and development of new gold projects is also increasing rapidly.
An uptake in battery technology around the world has also driven greater investment in nickel, cobalt, rare earths and lithium. This has led to a surge of investment in Australia’s massive deposits, with potential for further investment in domestic processing facilities.
The project listing now includes around 60 projects in the ‘battery commodity’ space, valued at over $26 billion. Many of these will involve innovative mining practices and new processing technology.
Minister Pitt added that the outlook for resources and energy investment was good news for jobs and economic growth, particularly in regional Australia.
“Development projects build future economic activity and create new jobs. Around 20,000 construction jobs and more than 7,000 ongoing jobs are expected from the committed and recently completed projects,” he said.
“This investment will boost incomes and jobs in Australia’s towns and regions, and contribute to the prosperity of all Australians.”
The 2020 Resources and Energy Major Projects report can be found online here.
