Since 2021 the mining industry has invested $3.9 billion into exploration projects across Australia, and the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) said it must continue to do so in the interest of ‘future prosperity’.
MCA Chief Executive Officer, Tania Constable, said that mining has been the largest contributor to Australia’s economic prosperity for the last decade.
“Mining has been the largest contributor to Australia’s economy prosperity over the last decade – the largest source of GDP growth, the largest source of export revenue and significant source of government revenue with $255 billion generated in company taxes and royalties,” Ms Constable said.
“Exploration expenditure data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has confirmed the mining industry is also making significant investments to ensure these contributions continue.”
As demand for critical minerals increases, continued investment in exploration will ensure Australia is well positioned for future world markets, explained Ms Constable.
“Australia must retain its geoscience technology advantage through ongoing public investment in research and development, and commit to a national program of pre-competitive geological surveys such as Geoscience Australia’s highly successful Exploring for the Future program,” Ms Constable said.
“The government should provide competitive regulatory settings on tax, workplace relations, safeguards mechanism and streamlined environmental assessments and approvals with states and the Northern Territory.”
