Mining and manufacturing

This section provides analysis for the Northern Territory's (NT’s) mining and manufacturing industries. It  explores activity for a range of commodities, minerals, manufactured products and exports. Mining and manufacturing activities that take place in the NT include mining of metal ores, petroleum production, quarrying and mining of non-metallic minerals, as well as the manufacturing of a wide range of products for both domestic and overseas consumption.

Economic contribution | Contribution to employment | Mineral production | Petroleum production | Manufacturing | Explanatory notes

This section provides analysis for the NT’s mining and manufacturing industries. It explores activity for a range of commodities, minerals, manufactured products and exports. Mining and manufacturing activities that take place in the NT include mining of metal ores, petroleum production, quarrying and mining of non-metallic minerals, as well as the manufacturing of a wide range of products for both domestic and overseas consumption.

Mining and manufacturing contribute to the NT economy through international trade, private investment and employment. The mining and manufacturing industries also have a significant impact on the NT’s construction industry as mining and manufacturing projects generally require significant levels of construction activity.

Economic contribution

• The NT’s mining and manufacturing industries declined by 15.6% in 2022-23 to $9.2 billion, which reflects a 17.1% decrease in the mining industry to $8.2 billion, and a decrease of 1.2% in the manufacturing sector to $1.0 billion.
• Mining and manufacturing accounted for 31.6% of NT economic output in 2022‑23 (Chart 1).

Contribution to employment

• In 2022-23, mining and manufacturing employment rose by 46.8% to 8,765 persons. This reflects a 99.5% increase in mining industry employment and a 8.0% increase in the manufacturing industry.
• Employment figures may be understated as both industries employ large numbers of fly‑in fly‑out workers from interstate, who are not included in the NT’s official employment figures.

Mineral production

• The NT’s mineral producers sold $4.4 billion worth of commodities in 2022-23, a 10.9% decrease from 2021-22 (Table 1) (Chart 2).

• The NT also produces a range of non-metallic minerals such as rock, sand, gravel and quicklime that contributed about 1.6% to the total value of mineral commodities sold in 2022-23.
• The NT’s metallic mineral commodities are predominantly exported overseas (with the exception of gold dore production, much of which is transported to the Perth mint for processing).

Map 1: Current and pending mineral and onshore petroleum production in the NT¹

1  This map is produced from various sources. Department of Treasury and Finance cannot guarantee the accuracy,currency or completeness of the information. To be used as a guide only.
Source: Department of Primary Industry and Resources, Department of Treasury and Finance.

Petroleum production

• Petroleum production in the NT includes the extraction of crude oil, condensate and natural gas, as well as the production of LNG, which makes up a large proportion of the NT’s overall production.
• Onshore petroleum production in the NT occurs mainly in the Amadeus Basin around the central Australia region. The NT’s offshore petroleum production comprises several operations in Commonwealth and Timor Leste waters (Map 2).

Oil

• The NT produces oil both onshore, in Central Australia, and offshore, in the Timor Sea. Offshore oil production attributed to the NT is from the Montara oilfield, following the cessation of production at the Laminaria‑Corrallina oilfield since July 2019.
• Oil produced offshore is exported directly from the fields for overseas trade. The value of the NT’s offshore petroleum oil exports rose from $5.3 million in 2021-22 to $1.3 billion in 2022-23 (current prices). This increase can be attributed to a change in the ABS’s confidentiality restrictions.
• Following the suspension of production at the Surprise oilfield in 2015, the NT’s onshore oil production is solely from the Mereenie oilfield, located west of Alice Springs. Onshore oil production was down by 14.8% in 2022-23 due to several temporary shutdowns of the Northern Gas Pipeline.

Gas

• The NT’s onshore conventional gas is sourced from the Amadeus Basin located in the Central Australia region. Production occurs at the Mereenie, Palm Valley and Dingo fields.
• In 2022-23 onshore gas production decreased by 7.1% compared to the previous year.
• Current offshore NT gas production is from the Blacktip gas field near the NT and Western Australia border, the Ichthys gas field 220 km off the coast of Western Australia, and the Bayu‑Undan gas field in Timor-Leste offshore waters.
• Gas from the Ichthys and Bayu-Undan fields is transported to onshore processing facilities to be exported to global markets, whereas gas from Blacktip is used primarily for domestic consumption.
• The  Bayu-Undan gas field is expected to be depleted by the end of 2023. Construction works to bring its replacement, the Barossa gas field into production are now 63% complete, with production anticipated to begin in the first half of 2025 subject to requisite approvals to recommence work.
• LNG production is the largest manufacturing activity in the NT and total goods exported, however, is included in the mining industry classification by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Map 2: Offshore petroleum activity¹

1  This map is produced from various sources. Department of Treasury and Finance cannot guarantee the accuracy, currency or completeness of the information. To be used as a guide only.
Source: Department of Treasury and Finance.

Manufacturing

• Significant manufacturing industries in the Territory include fabricated metal products, helium, and transport equipment and repair.
• Manufactured goods production accounted for 3.6% ($1.0 billion) of GSP in 2022‑23 (Chart 4).
• Manufacturing employed an average of 3,722 persons in the NT in 2022-23, below the 10-year average of 3,795 persons.
• Manufacturing accounted for 2.6% of the NT’s employment in 2022-23.

Explanatory notes

• The NT’s mining and manufacturing industries’ data are reported together for the purposes of this publication as ABS includes the gross value added of manufactured LNG in the mining industry classification. Mining and manufacturing activities in the NT include mining of metal ores, petroleum production, quarrying and mining of non-metallic minerals, as well as manufacturing of a wide range of products for both domestic and overseas consumption such as concrete, wood chips and food products. The NT’s mining industry data also includes offshore petroleum production in NT waters.
• Analysis of the components of this industry is informed by a number of different data sources, including the ABS, information published in company reports and data provided by the Department of Primary Industry and Resources.