WA’s resources sector made a significant contribution to the State’s economy in 2024 through:
- WA’s mining industry set a record for jobs in 2024, with 135,693 on-site Full-time Equivalent (FTE) positions. This shows the ongoing strength of mine production and construction activities in the State.
- There were 4,263 FTE in minerals exploration, up from the nearly 4,000 FTE in 2023, but still below a peak of nearly 4,700 FTE in 2021-22.
- Employment in the petroleum sector was 7,870 people in 2024, an improvement from 6,976 people in 2023-24.
- WA’s mineral exploration expenditure was $2.5 billion in 2024, a decrease on the record spend of $2.6 billion spend in 2023.
- This expenditure reflects, in part, ongoing efforts to discover new minerals as well as the impact of costs particularly for labour, equipment and fuel within the exploration sector.
- Petroleum exploration expenditure in WA remained steady year-on-year valued at $485 million in 2024, continuing a partial recovery from a 25-year low in 2022-23.
- Investment in WA’s mining and petroleum industries was $32 billion in 2024, broadly similar to last year.
- The department's analysis of information on mineral, petroleum and associated infrastructure projects in the investment pipeline, shows that as of March 2025:
- There was $48 billion in projects committed and under construction, compared to $50 billion in projects as of September 2024.
- The estimated capital cost of medium to longer-term projects (i.e. undergoing scoping, pre-feasibility and definitive feasibility study) was $125 billion, up from $119 billion as of September 2024.
2024 economic indicators data file
Employment
Mining
Western Australia’s mining industry set a record for jobs in 2024, with 135,693 on-site Full-time Equivalent (FTE) positions. This shows the ongoing strength of mine production and construction activities in the State.
This is the eighth year in a row that mining jobs have grown, with record highs in the last six years.
However, the rate of growth slowed to 3.7 per cent in 2024, compared the average of 6.6 per cent in the previous five years, suggesting mining employment may be nearing its peak.
The biggest contributors to mining jobs were:
- Iron ore: 65,359 FTE
- Gold: 33,285 FTE
- Lithium: 11,422 FTE
- Nickel: 7,660 FTE
- Alumina and bauxite: 6,648 FTE
Most minerals saw an increase in jobs compared to the previous year with the major movers being:
- Iron ore: grew by almost 4,500 FTE
- Gold: grew by almost 3,000 FTE
- Lithium: grew by over 1,300 FTE
However, there were some commodities that declined, most notably:
- Nickel: fell by over 3,200 FTE due to several operations being put into care and maintenance during the year, most notably BHP’s Nickel West operations and its West Musgrave development project, IGO’s Cosmos and Forrestania mines, and First Quantum Minerals’ Ravensthorpe mine.
- Alumina and bauxite: dropped by nearly 600 FTE as Alcoa’s Kwinana refinery was curtailed.
Download and view the Mining full-time equivalent employment, annually, 2015 to 2024 table.
Download and view the Mining full time equivalent employment in 2024 by commodity table.
Minerals exploration
There were 4,263 FTE in minerals exploration, up from 3,973 FTE in 2023, but still below the peak of 4,685 FTE in 2021-22.
Petroleum
Western Australia’s petroleum sector employment was 7,870 people in 2024, an improvement from 6,976 people in 2023-24.
It remains well down from peak levels likely due to short-term factors like lower oil and gas prices, along with a longer-term decline in new oil and gas projects in the State.
Download and view the Petroleum employed persons, annually, 2015 to 2024 table.
Exploration
Minerals
WA’s mineral exploration expenditure was $2.5 billion in 2024, a decrease from the record spend of $2.6 billion in 2023.
This expenditure reflects efforts to find new mineral deposits and the impact of costs, including labour, equipment, and fuel.
Lower expenditure, in combination with reduced drilling activity, suggests Western Australia’s exploration activity may have peaked in the current commodity cycle.
The main targets of exploration spending were:
- Gold: $883 million, its lowest level since 2019-20.
- Iron ore: $750 million, the highest spend in more than a decade.
- Other minerals (which includes lithium and rare earths): $490 million, falling from a record $584 million in 2023-24 but still the third highest level for a calendar or financial year on record.
- Nickel and cobalt: $192 million, down from a recent record high in 2022-23 of $287 million amid market challenges.
- Copper: $153 million, lower than its 2021 peak of over $250 million.
More spending focused on brownfields areas (existing deposits), which hit a record $1.91 billion in 2024, with greenfields (new deposits) spending dropping to $600 million. Brownfields exploration is often cheaper and less risky, making it more appealing in today’s higher-cost environment.
Western Australia remains Australia’s top destination for exploration, accounting for 64 per cent of the national spend, above its long-term average of around 60 per cent.
Download and view the Mineral exploration expenditure, annually, 2015 to 2024, for Western Australia, the rest of Australia, and Western Australia’s share of Australia table.
Petroleum
Petroleum exploration expenditure in Western Australia remained steady year-on-year valued at $485 million in 2024, continuing a partial recovery from a 25-year low in 2022-23.
Western Australia’s share of national petroleum exploration spending declining to 34 per cent due to increased exploration in the Northern Territory, the lowest level for a calendar or financial year on record.
Download and view the Petroleum exploration expenditure, annually, 2015 to 2024, for Western Australia, the rest of Australia, and Western Australia’s share of Australia table.
Investment
Investment in Western Australia’s mining and petroleum industries was $32 billion in 2024, broadly similar to last year.
The key investment drivers for 2024 continued to be:
- LNG: Woodside Energy’s Scarborough project and Shell’s Crux project.
- Iron Ore: The Onslow iron ore project, which moved to the production phase in May 2024, and Western Range iron ore project.
- Higher capital costs for mining construction projects from recent cost pressures, though there are signs these pressures may be easing.
While investment levels have grown year-on-year since the bottom of the investment downturn in early 2019, they still remain about only two-thirds of the peak levels seen during the mining investment boom of a decade ago.
Western Australia accounted for 61 per cent of national mining and petroleum investment. This share was higher than the 10-year average but below the previous highs of 70 to 80 per cent over a decade ago.
The resources sector remained the dominant driver of capital expenditure in Western Australia contributing 71 per cent of total new capital expenditure in the State, albeit lower than the peak contribution of more than 80 per cent during the mining construction boom years.
Download and view the Mining investment, annually, 2015 to 2024, for Western Australia, the rest of Australia, and Western Australia’s share of Australia table.
The department also monitors and collects information on mineral, petroleum and associated infrastructure projects in the investment pipeline, and estimates the capital costs of these projects.
Analysis of this information shows that as of March 2025 there was projects:
- Under Construction and Committed: valued at an estimated at $48 billion, compared to $50 billion as of September 2024.
- Medium-to-longer-term Planned and Possible: valued at an estimated $125 billion, up from $119 billion as of September 2024.
Download and view the Table of estimated capital expenditure of resources sector projects by development stage and commodity.
The decrease in the estimated value of projects under construction and committed reflected the major project developments including:
- Pilbara Minerals’ Pilgangoora 1000 expansion: completed in December 2024
- Tianqi Lithium and IGO’s Kwinana Lithium Processing Plant Train 2: construction was suspended in January 2025.
There were also few positive investment decisions in Western Australia’s resources sector during the period outside of the gold industry which may well reflect global economic uncertainty and declining global growth forecasts. The most notable final investment decisions were:
- Capricorn Metals’ Karlawinda expansion
- Vault Minerals’ King of the Hills gold project expansions
There were significant project announcements contributing to the medium-to-long term pipeline of projects that included:
- Rio Tinto’s Brockman Syncline 1 project
- Chevron’s Gorgon Stage 3 (Geryone and Eurytion) project
- Antipa Minerals’ Minyari Dome gold project
- Westgold Resources’ Fortnum Expansion
- Kairos Minerals’ Mt York gold project
- Victory Metals’ North Stanmore rare earths projects
Several medium-to-long-term projects also announced significant upwards capital expenditure revisions including:
- Alliance Nickel’s NiWest nickel project
- Ramelius Resources Eridanus (Mt Magnet) Underground gold project
- Cyprium Metals’ Nifty copper restart
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