Expenditure on mineral exploration in the Queensland mining industry has grown from around 12 percent to 16 and 18 percent of the Australian total in the past 5 years.  Coal, copper and gold are the largest contributors to Queensland expenditure on mineral exploration.

Expenditure on petroleum exploration has more than doubled in Queensland over the past 7 years from around $85 million to $192 million.  Expenditure on petroleum exploration in the Queensland mining industry has remained steady at around 9 percent of the Australian total in the past 7 years. 

The mining industry in Queensland has been growing steadily over the past 8 years.  It has grown at a faster rate than Australia until last year.    As with the mining industry, expenditure on petroleum exploration has grown at an increasing rate. 

INTERPRETATION: The growth of the mining industry in Queensland has had a positive effect on employment in the region and generated wealth for the State.  Employment opportunities attract increasing numbers of residents to the State.  One of the implications of the mining industry boom for the GBR is that increasing population numbers, with a generally high level of income, has meant more residents using the GBRMP for recreational opportunities.  The latter may be reflected in increasing number of boat registrations.  With a continuation of the mining boom, these trends are likely to continue possibly placing pressures on the GBR through increased recreational use. 

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Citation and/or URL

Australian Bureau of Statistics data (ABS catalogue number 8412.0).  

Spatial Coverage

Australia, Queensland 

Temporal Coverage

2000 - 2007 

Update Frequency

irregular

Other Information

None