| Iron ore mining in Western Australia | |
|---|---|
 Position of Western Australia within Australia highlighted | |
| Location | |
| State | Western Australia |
| Country | Australia |
| Regulatory authority | |
| Authority | Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety |
| Website | www |
| Production | |
| Commodity | Iron ore |
| Production |  861.3 million tonnes |
| Value |  A$125.1 billion |
| Employees | 61,203 (FTE)[1] |
| Year | 2022–23[1] |
Iron ore mining in Western Australia, in the 2018–19 financial year, accounted for 54 percent of the total value of the state's resource production, with a value of A$78.2 billion. The overall value of the minerals and petroleum industry in Western Australia was A$145 billion in 2018–19, a 26 percent increase on the previous financial year.[2][3]
Western Australia's iron ore output for 2020–21 was 838.7 million tonnes, the second-highest figure after 2017–18. The bulk of Western Australian ore went to China, which imported 82% of 2021 production, followed by Japan and South Korea, with 6% each.[4] The state has the world's largest reserves of iron ore with 29% of the world's iron ore, followed by Brazil with 19%, Russia with 15% and China with 12%.[2][5][3]
In 2020–21 the Western Australian Government received A$9.8 billion in royalties from the iron ore mining industry in the state.[4][2][6][3] The remaining life of the Pilbara iron ore fields has been estimated as 65 years from 2021.[7]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
digest23was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c "Western Australian Mineral and Petroleum Statistics Digest 2017–18" (PDF). East Perth, WA: Government of Western Australia Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety. 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
- ^ a b c "Western Australian Mineral and Petroleum Statistics Digest 2018–19" (PDF). Department of Mines and Petroleum. East Perth, WA: Government of Western Australia. 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
digest21was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Tuck, Christopher A. (28 February 2019). "Mineral Commodity Summaries 2019" (PDF). Reston, Virginia: U.S. Geological Survey. pp. 88–89. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
- ^ "Western Australia Iron Ore Profile" (PDF). Perth, WA: Government of Western Australia Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation. June 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
- ^ Haselgrove, Salomae (9 February 2021). "Pilbara to lead decades of Australian iron ore prosperity". Australian Mining. Retrieved 14 December 2023.