Western Australia’s mineral and petroleum industry has again exceeded the $100 billion mark, recording sales of $105 billion.
This was a 19 per cent increase compared to the 2015-16 overall sales value.
According to the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, iron ore sales increased by 31 per cent, LNG was up 18 per cent and gold sales up by seven per cent.
Gold sales broke the 200 tonne mark for the first time since 2000-01 with 205 tonnes (6.6 million ounces).
Iron ore sales volumes increased six per cent to reach a record 790 million tonnes.
The volume of LNG produced reached a record 28.7 million tonnes, following the start-up of Chevron’s Gorgon LNG project and record production from the North West Shelf and Pluto LNG projects.
LNG volumes have increased by 45 per cent in the past five years.
The average number of Western Australians employed in the minerals sector in 2016-17 was 108,769 – an increase of four per cent compared to last year.
Direct employment remains high, relative to 10 years ago, when the average number of people employed was 62,117 (an increase of more than 75 per cent).