Australia’s gold industry has been vital to the development of our country and national identity.

Economy:

  • Australia has the largest known share of gold resources in the world (21%).

  • Production from new mines and existing mine expansions is expected to boost gold mine production in Australia to 305 tonnes in 2022-2023.

  • Gold is Australia's fifth-largest export commodity. Australia’s gold exports generated $23 billion in revenue in 2021.

  • Australia’s gold exports totalled 257 tonnes in 2021, worth $24 billion.

  • Western Australia is the largest gold producing state in Australia, accounting for 68% (or 218 tonnes) of Australian total gold mine output in 2021.

  • Australia exports its gold to more than 55 countries.

  • Australia is the second largest gold producer in the world, and production is projected to rise at an average of 6.8% between 2022 and 2025, reaching 390 tonnes per annum.

  • Australia has two of the world’s 20 largest gold mines and reserves totalling more than 380 million ounces of gold.

  • The gold sector is Western Australia’s second most valuable mineral commodity, accounting for about 70% of Australia’s total gold mine output in 2021 (219 tonnes).

  • There are 82 operating gold projects - with one or more gold mines - in Australia, accounting for 9% of global mine production.

  • $1.6 billion was spent on gold exploration in 2021, accounting for 45% of Australia’s total mineral exploration.

  • Australia’s gold industry contributed $23 billion to the economy in 2021.

  • Australia's gold industry is an important contributor to government revenues and has paid more than $2.5 billion in royalties over the past decade, which helps to build vital infrastructure and fund essential community services.

Employment:

  • Australia’s gold industry is the second largest employer in the mining sector.

  • In 2019-20, Australia’s gold industry directly employed approximately 31,000 people.

  • For each direct job in the gold industry, it is estimated there are a further 8 indirect jobs, supporting more than 240,000 Australians and their families.

  • Gold Industry Group members support Indigenous job seekers and workers through a variety of training and employment initiatives.

  • Gold Industry Group members provide career opportunities for all Australians through workplace programs such as apprenticeships, traineeships, graduate roles and vacation work, as well as scholarships and mining camps for school students.

Global:

  • Global gold consumption increased by 9.9% to 4,021 tonnes in 2021. The economic recovery from the pandemic saw gold jewellery demand jump 52% to 2,124 tonnes, while demand for gold in technology increased by 8.9%, propelled by a 9.2% rise in gold used in the electronics sector. This is expected to continue into the future, with world gold consumption tipped to rise at an annual average rate of 4.0% for the next three years

A GOLDEN COUNTRY

The Gold Industry Group’s industry-wide economic and social impact brochure, ‘A Golden Country’, highlights the key economic and social contributions the gold industry has made in Australia since the early gold rushes of the 1850s.

Golden Nation

The results from a study conducted by Deloitte Access Economics into the gold industry were released in May 2016, revealing its significant contribution to Australia’s history, economic development and social advancement. The research affirmed the gold industry’s importance to the sustainability, social fabric and financial future of the nation and its most remote regional communities.

Download Deloitte's ‘Golden Nation’ report on the gold industry's economic and social contribution to Australia.