By Natasha Mutch, Media and Communications Manager, Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia
Australia is a mineral-rich country, with each state having plenty to offer, but recent data has shown that Western Australia is once again the powerhouse of the country’s mining and resources industries.
The Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia (CME) is a leading advocate for the mining and energy sectors in Western Australia – a significant responsibility given that the Western Australian resources industry supports three in ten jobs across the state and nine per cent of Australia’s gross domestic product (GDP).
CME is a member-based organisation, with early roots stretching back to 1895 in the Goldfields mining town of Coolgardie, that strives to advocate on behalf of its members. With advances in technology, safe mining operations and sustainable practices, the key issues facing the industry have changed a lot since CME’s official inception in 1901, but the organisation’s focus remains the same.
For almost 130 years, CME has represented its members to ensure that the resources sector’s priorities and benefits are understood across governments, businesses and the community. It now has more than 70 ordinary members and 100 associate members representing a diverse range of Western Australian resources projects across the minerals and energy sectors.
Strong industry performance
Every year, CME surveys its members to gain insight into the level of expenditure by the Western Australian resources sector on wages and salaries, business spend, contributions to the community and payments to the government at local, state and federal levels.
CME’s statistics for the 2022-23 financial year were released in March 2024 and show that the resources sector drives the Western Australian economy and accounts for approximately 30 per cent of the Western Australian Government’s revenue. Publicly available data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and state agencies shows that in 2022-23, the Western Australian resources sector accounted for almost half of the state’s economic activity and 91 per cent of goods exports.
Survey results and statistics collected by the CME for its annual Economic Contribution Factsheets shows a record $132 billion in direct spending by the Western Australian resources sector in Australia in the 2022-23 financial year – a 32 per cent increase from the previous 12 months.
The CME data for that period showed that at a community level, more than 18,000 local businesses, nearly 1,400 community organisations and 78 local governments benefited directly from spending by industry in 2022-23.
The direct economic contribution of the sector in Western Australia also grew more than 30 per cent, surpassing $77 billion and representing the equivalent of nearly $27,000 for each person in the state.
In short, mining and resources accounted for approximately half of Western Australia’s economic activity and capital expenditure and close to 90 per cent of its goods exports.
The ripple effect
In addition to surveying its members, CME commissions third party modelling to quantify the indirect spillovers of this spending throughout the economy and regions. This recognises the vast supply chain that supports and benefits from the industry’s activity.
In 2022-23, spending by the Western Australian resources sector supported more than 350,000 additional full-time equivalent jobs across the remainder of the state’s economy.
CME’s Chief Executive Officer, Rebecca Tomkinson, said the data indicates that the flow-on effects of Western Australian mining and resources operations are felt at all levels of communities right around the country.
“Given that our data represents a snapshot of the activities of only CME member companies, the full influence and benefits provided by our sector would be even greater than what is outlined in our Economic Contribution Factsheets,” Ms Tomkinson said.
“It’s enormously important for not only Western Australians but all Australians that these contributions are able to keep growing and that our industry can continue to deliver for communities.”
Ms Tomkinson said that the most recent economic contribution data was produced against a backdrop of substantial federal reform in industrial relations, emissions management and environmental protection.
Those reforms, Ms Tomkinson said, would hold major ramifications for the resources sector – and by default the state and national economies – if not managed properly.
“It’s critical for industry and, by extension, communities Australia-wide, that the process surrounding these reforms is transparent and consultative to ensure the end result is fit-for-purpose and has longevity.
“The Federal Government’s announcement of a staged approach to implementation of Nature Positive is an encouraging development that provides additional time to work through the details of complex reform.”
The global sustainability transformation
The global energy transition – and Western Australia’s role in it – has created a step-change for the state’s mining industry and it has had to respond quickly to take advantage of market demand.
With an abundance of key reserves in battery minerals and the resources needed to develop renewable technology, the state has emerged as integral to Australia’s decarbonisation ambitions.
For Ms Tomkinson, this represents an opportunity to evolve the business as the world advances towards greener energy.
A large part of Ms Tomkinson’s leadership role at CME is stakeholder relations and a formidable agenda of engagement across the state and nationally. Advocating for the industry and communicating its challenges and benefits, Ms Tomkinson said, requires a dedicated, bipartisan government relations approach supported by strategic communications and media engagement.
“At the very core, people are the reason for the industry’s success. Whether its highly skilled engineers or technicians, direct and indirect employees, businesses and the community, the resources industry contributes materially to the lives of all Western Australians. It’s part of our DNA,” Ms Tomkinson said.
“CME leads policy development on issues impacting the sector, promotes the value of the sector to the community and provides an avenue for members and stakeholders to collaborate.
“One of the ways we can articulate those benefits to the Western Australian community – and more broadly to the Australian economy – is via our annual economic contribution factsheets.”
Embracing opportunities
CME believes that one of the Western Australian mining and resources sector’s biggest opportunities lies in the global energy transition and progress towards net zero.
The vast majority of minerals required to construct a solar panel, a wind turbine or a battery can be found with relative abundance in Western Australia. This includes lithium, bauxite, nickel, rare earths, silicon, cobalt, copper, graphite, vanadium and a long-time staple of the Western Australian and Australian economies – iron ore.
Liquefied natural gas from Western Australia also remains very much in demand in Asia and will have strong appeal for emerging nations in the region looking to fuel economic growth while reducing their reliance on coal.
Meanwhile, Western Australia has climatic conditions that are conducive to the implementation of solar and wind power, which are already being used to decarbonise mining and resources operations and will have a role to play in the production of low-carbon fuels of the future.
Hydrogen and ammonia are two such fuels in which Western Australia has an opportunity to be a global leader in clean production and the infrastructure – existing and proposed – to get these commodities to market.
Ms Tomkinson is confident the state also has great promise as a carbon capture and storage hub, for both domestic emissions and those of trading partners overseas. The passage of The Petroleum Legislation Amendment Bill 2023 through the Legislative Council, she said, provides a framework allowing carbon capture and storage (CCS) to be broadly utilised in Western Australia and adding CCS technology is seen as an important part of Australia’s decarbonisation pathway.
“CME continues to support investment in a broad range of affordable technologies including for energy efficiency, abatement and carbon sequestration, so the passage of this legislation is important to enable industry to include CCS in their decarbonisation pathways.”
Ms Tomkinson also referred to the Federal Government’s May announcement of $566 million to boost data collection and map resources deposits on land and under the seabed as part of the Resourcing Australia’s Prosperity initiative. Ms Tomkinson said the investment in Geoscience Australia under the Future Made in Australia policy was an intelligent way to leverage geoscientific data and ensure projects had greater clarity for investment and initiation.
“It means companies can understand where critical resources seams are located and how they interact with the needs of other important onshore and offshore projects.
“Having publicly available information is critical to ensuring there is common understanding of locations of resources so that future development can balance land interests and values across environmental protection, agriculture, electricity generation, transmission infrastructure, social needs and large-scale renewable energy projects.
“It’s counter-intuitive, for example, to place a wind or solar farm directly over an area that is needed for the critical minerals deposits required by renewable energy projects,” Ms Tomkinson said.
“All roads to global net zero run through Australia and, more relevantly, Western Australia. This pathway becomes even clearer as operations in our state increasingly move along the value chain into downstream processing.
“In the long run, we feel our industry’s strong commitment to positive environmental outcomes and Australia’s stable political systems will be strong and enduring attractions for both customers and investors.
“Western Australia continues to produce almost half the nation’s goods exports and to generate almost $260 billion for the nation, so it’s also essential that government policy settings and support mechanisms allow our operations to be as competitive as possible on the world stage.”
Looking to the future
As CME and its members work to shape the future of Western Australian mining and resources, the development, attraction and retention of a skilled workforce continues to be a key focus area.
Ms Tomkinson is optimistic that the stereotypical and one-dimensional notion of the industry as “dig it and ship it” is already shifting and hopes in decades to come that it disappears altogether.
Ms Tomkinson highlighted the complexity and sophistication of existing resource operations which she said will only increase as new technologies are integrated, including renewables, to power these processes and steps along commodity value chains.
“We need all kinds of people from diverse backgrounds and skills in our industry,” Ms Tomkinson said.
“Yes, we need drillers and mining engineers and truck drivers – jobs that people have associated with mining and resources for decades. But we also need renewable energy experts, environmental management and rehabilitation specialists, lawyers, human resources personnel and, increasingly, people who are highly proficient in data analysis and robotics.”
Ms Tomkinson said that the industry as a whole had embraced innovation and new technologies to help maximise safety and sustainability through research and development, AI, predictive maintenance and automation.
“There’s a significant focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, primarily through electrification of operations, including constructing new solar and wind renewable energy projects. Members are trialling electric train locomotives, haulage trucks and other equipment.”
Constructing the future
Ms Tomkinson said the industry’s real-world innovations are leading-edge and being applied at a practical level to advance decarbonisation initiatives, but the industry’s skilled workforce needs to look to future needs as well.
“Recognising the need to develop a talent pipeline through STEM and other initiatives, CME and its member companies have introduced and expanded a first-of-its-kind Digital Technologies Program at schools around Western Australia.
“By giving students an early introduction to technology skills that a variety of industries need, we are opening up all kinds of careers for them.
“Some may eventually pursue a career in mining, others may elect to develop their interests in other fields. Either way, we’re confident the program will have a positive influence on the future prospects of young Western Australians.”
Ms Tomkinson said the Western Australian mining and resources sector was working hard to grow diversity and inclusion throughout its workplaces.
“The ultimate goal is that our workforce mirrors the demographics of society. We’re not there yet but we’re committed to doing everything we can to ensure it happens,” Ms Tomkinson said.
“We want to see more women in our operations and we want them to feel safe and respected at all times.
“That’s why CME and its members have worked closely with the Western Australian Government’s Mental Awareness, Respect and Safety (MARS) Program Landmark Study to help understand what some of the current barriers are to participation of women and how we can make things better.
“We want to keep growing this representation and diversity in all forms by ensuring all our workspaces are welcoming and inclusive for everyone. Western Australian mining and resources is already a leading employer of Aboriginal people but again, we can do more.
“It’s very much a journey of continuous improvement, one in which CME and its staff are privileged to represent our members and the broader industry.”
Featured image: Jason Bennee/stock.adobe.com
