Western Australia is one of the world’s pre-eminent mining jurisdictions, with a storied mining and exploration history, beginning with the Kalgoorlie gold rush in the 1890’s. Today, WA is one the world’s largest exporters of raw materials, including iron ore, gold, lithium, nickel, copper, lead, zinc, alumina, coal, diamonds, salt and mineral sands.
The mining and exploration industries make a critical contribution to the State’s economy employing more than 117,000 people in full time employment and providing around $246B to the State’s revenue through royalty payments in 2022, which makes WA the leading destination for exploration investment in Australia.
In 2022, investment in the mining and petroleum sector continued its outstanding run with almost $26 billion invested in the State of WA.
In 2023, the WA Government announced a $77M funding commitment to support the establishment of WA’s new Aboriginal Cultural Heritage laws and a $40M investment into developing WA’s burgeoning critical minerals sector.
AMEC has created an Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Resources Hub which contains helpful resources that members can use to manage the transition to the new Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2021.
AMEC does not have a Western Australian Advisory Committee, as the Association already supports a wide range of Standing Committees and Working Groups that support and address the issues of Western Australian focused member companies. These committees also deal with a wide range of national issues affecting the sector and AMEC’s broader membership.
AMEC forms working groups to progress a policy response for a commodity on a state specific issue. These groups ensure that our policies and advocacy initiatives represent the industry’s views. Our working groups in WA are:
We have a number of regular WA events held throughout the year including sundowners, information briefings and seminars. To find out what AMEC events are happening in WA, head to our events page.
To find out more about how AMEC is working in WA, contact State Director Neil van Drunen.