Northern Territory

In 2021-22, the mining industry comprised 31.7% of GSP, the largest contributor to the Territory economy. However, despite its relative size, the mining industry in the Northern Territory is still remarkably small compared with other comparable States, and against the scale of prospectivity and opportunity that exists there. Currently, there are only eight major operating mines in the Territory, with a handful of additional smaller miners in operation, or in care and maintenance.

With careful stewardship, the contribution of the mining and the mineral exploration sector has enormous potential to grow.  The Territory has some of Australia’s largest deposits of uranium, zinc-lead, bauxite, gold, phosphate and manganese.  There are also significant deposits of critical minierals required to achieve net zero targets such as copper, rare earths, vanadium, lithium, tungsten, salt, mineral sands and potash.

The rocks are in the ground, and with the right regulatory settings, mining could transform the Northern Territory economy. A strong commitment to greenfield mineral exploration in the long term is the key to the Territory making the discoveries needed to build the mines of the future.