Measures supporting minerals and primary metals extraction and processing : case study: Australia

Efforts to document government support benefiting specific sectors or industries have so far paid scant attention to support given to the non-energy minerals sector. In this paper the issue of support for this sector is explored by way of a case study of Australia, a leading producer and exporter of minerals. After describing the mining sector in the context of the Australian economy and the role of government in the exploitation of the country’s vast resources, the study identifies and document support measures based on the OECD’s framework for organising and analysing support to the fossil-fuel sector. The study finds that government support to the mining industry is relatively limited. Measures through which the Australian federal government assists the mining industry tax concessions related to corporate expenditure on R&D and on exploration and other expenditure, a fuel-tax rebate and the provision of geoscientific data at zero or minimal cost. The State governments provide preferential electricity prices to aluminium smelters. Monetary estimates of the cost to government of these measures are provided where available.