Snapshot of the Territory's resource industry
Resource statistics are compiled from Department of Mining and Energy, Treasury and Australia Bureau of Statistics. They highlight a thriving industry contributing significantly to the economy of the Northern Territory.
Contribution to NT economy
- Value of resources sector in the Territory: $7.9 billion1
- Gross State Product:: 23%1
- Direct jobs: 3400
- Estimated royalties paid: $346 million
Minerals
- Value of Mineral Production: $6.08 billion
- Operating mines: 9
- Developing projects: 16
- Projected capex: $6.2 billion
- Projected construction jobs: 3200
- Projected operational jobs: 2800
- Mineral exploration expenditure: $127.8 million
- Mineral tenure:
- Exploration leases (EL) at 1 Jan 2026: 995 (down from 1034 on 1 Jan 2025)
- EL under application at 1 Jan 2026: 733
- EL applications received (2025): 130 (down from 185 in 2024)
- EL applications granted (2025): 92 (down from 96 in 2024)
Petroleum
- Onshore petroleum production: 12.57 Bcf Gas and 0.102 MMbbl Oil
- Petroleum Exploration expenditure: $447 million 2
- Onshore gas contingent resources: 6,903 Bcsf
- Petroleum tenure:
- Exploration permits (EP): 36
- Retention licences: 3
- Production licences: 5
- Pipeline licences: 29
Record of comparable figures
| Statistic | 2025-26 | 2024-25 | 2023-24 | 2022-23 | 2021-22 | 2020-21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value of resources sector (mining only) | not reported yet | $7.9 billion | $8.5 billion3 ($10.2 billion) | $8.1 billion | $9.9 billion4 ($5.74 billion) | $9.01 billion4 ($5.1 billion) |
| GSP (mining only) | not reported yet | 23.2% | ~25% | 28% | 31%5 (22%) | 20% |
| Direct jobs (mining only) | not reported yet | 3400 | 4060 | 4093 | 3500 (Deloitte 2019-20) | 3070 |
| Royalties (budget papers estimate) | not reported yet | $346 million | $209 million | not released | $353 million | $344 million |
| Value of mineral production | $6.08 billion | $4.36 billion | $4.32 billion | $4.38 billion | $4.86 billion | $4.28 billion |
| Mineral exploration expenditure | $127.8 | $130.7 million | $228.6 million | $200.1 million | $171.5 million | $128.3 million |
| Onshore gas contingent resources | not reported yet | 6,903 Bcsf gas | not released | 6512 Bcsf gas | 8957 Bcsf gas | 7933 Bcsf gas |
Footnotes
1 Mining only includes all mining, onshore and offshore petroleum activity. This figure excludes manufacturing 2026-27 Budget Economy
2 Includes ABS data for first three quarts, March 2025 quarter not included in ABS. (2025-26 results not used as three quarts did not contained data)
3 Inflation adjusted
4 Rebase figures explained by ABS:
For further information, refer to Previous budget papers | Department of Treasury and Finance