Mining in NW Queensland: The lynchpin of the economy
Mining has long been a backbone of North West Queensland’s economy but now it will prove crucial to pulling Australia out of the coronavirus recession. Queensland’s mining industry is the state’s most valuable sector, accounts for 40% of all capital expenditure and directly employs nearly 65,000 people with nearly a quarter of them working at mines in North Queensland. The North West Minerals Province (NWMP), centered around Cloncurry and Mt Isa, is one of the world’s greatest mining regions and holds about 75% of Queensland’s base metal mineral endowment including copper, lead, zinc and silver as well as major phosphate deposits. The big players employ thousands with even the Mt Isa mayor, Danielle Slade, getting her first job straight out…