Direct Mining Spending Boosts Broken Hill Economy

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The NSW Minerals Council’s latest annual member company Expenditure Survey has found that the 28 participating mining companies directly injected $147 million into Broken Hill’s economy in 2017/18, supporting hundreds of local jobs and generating millions in additional spending across the region. 

“These survey results show that mining’s contribution to Broken Hill economy remains strong, with jobs and the number of local business supported by our members remaining steady,” NSW Minerals Council CEO, Stephen Galilee said today.

This direct spending is estimated to have contributed over 29 percent of the Gross Regional Product of the Far West’s economy in 2017-18.

This $147 million in direct spending in 2017-18 included $53 million in wages for 469 full-time employees, and nearly $94 million in purchases from 136 local businesses, along with community contributions and payments to local government.

Across NSW surveyed companies directly spent $10.7 billion in 2017/18 an increase of $300 million compared to the previous year.  This direct spending included over $3 billion in wages to more than 24,000 employees and $5.6 billion on the purchase of goods and services from 7,135 local businesses.

“This survey, now completed for a seventh year, confirms that the economy of the Far West region and Broken Hill, in particular, continues to be strongly supported by mining activity for local jobs, investment and economic growth. The challenge for whoever forms government at the March will be to implement the right policy settings for mining so our industry can deliver more jobs, more opportunities, and better times for the region over the long term,” he said.

Contact: Hugo Robinson