Mining and other industries have a long history of successfully coexisting together, creating jobs, investment and prosperity for NSW, particularly in regional communities.
It surprises some people to learn that mining operations use a small amount of land in NSW.
Mining is vital to our economy, providing around 30,000 jobs across the state (ABS). NSW mining operations directly spent $14.6 billion in NSW in 2020/21, including wages for their employees, purchases from more than 8,000 local supplier businesses, plus royalties and taxes paid to the NSW Government.
- Mining operations in NSW use less than 0.1 percent of the state's land.
- In comparison, agriculture uses around 78 percent of the state's land.
That’s a pretty good return for such a small amount of land used
Land rehabilitation
Rehabilitation is an important part of the mine planning process and mining operations. It starts soon after mining commences, to limit the amount of land disturbed at any given time and to ensure the land is returned to a safe and stable use when mining is finished.