The engine room

Mining is the engine room of the Territory economy. It is the economy’s strongest sector, worth $3.4 billion in 2007-08 and accounting for just under 24 per centof gross state product. The sector employs 4700 people on some of the nation’s biggest sites, including:

Ranger, the nation’s largest uranium mine producing nearly $500 million worth of sales;
GEMCO, the country’s largest manganese project;
McArthur River, Australia’s second-largest zinc producer;
Rio Tinto Alcan, the nation’s fourth-largest producer of bauxite and alumina at a value of over $480 million.
Callie, the country’s fourth-largest goldmine, which is operated by international producer Newmont from inside the distant Tanami Desert.

Bring Forward Discovery

The Territory covers one-sixth of Australia’s total landmass, much of which is remote and unexplored. A burgeoning mineral exploration industry underpins the Territory’s mining industry. Mineral exploration grew by 23% in the year to March 2009 with expenditure over $145 million.

Bring Forward Discovery (BFD) is the Northern Territory’s exploration investment attraction program, with the NT Government committing $14.4 million over four years to lower exploration risk and assist explorers in making the Territory’s next discovery. The program assists with:

Identifying exploration opportunities in greenfield terrain and underground
Sourcing collaborative funding for exploration geophysical surveys and drilling
Attracting investment partners for exploration projects.

The project is delivered by the Northern Territory Geological Survey, which provides cutting edge geo-scientific data, attracts international investment and offers partnerships to advance exploration programs. Recently, Proto Resources announced a significant copper discovery at Lindeman’s Bore, near Kalkarindji. Proto received a $100,000 grant in 2008’s Geophysics and Drilling Collaborations program.

The Territory Government's China Minerals Investment Attraction Strategy is also paying off with Arafura Resources recently finalising a multi-million deal with Jiangsu Eastern China Non-Ferrous Metals Investment Holding Co. Ltd (JEC).

Easy Export

Increasingly, mining companies are utilising the Territory’s infrastructure to export their minerals via Port Darwin. Both the Bootu Creek manganese project near Tennant Creek, 1000km south of Darwin, and the Frances Creek iron ore project near Pine Creek, 200km south of Darwin rely on the Adelaide to Darwin railway to transport their ore to Darwin’s East Arm Port for export to China. They use purpose-built railway cars to haul the ore, which is loaded in Darwin via the Port’s new $25 million bulk handling facilities.

^ back to top