Almost 27,500 jobs were supported by the NSW Minerals Council’s member companies in 2019-20, according to the council’s annual member company expenditure survey.

Members of the NSW Minerals Council include Newcrest Mining, Glencore, BHP, Whitehaven Coal and Yancoal.

The 27 companies participating in the survey also helped inject $14.9 billion into the New South Wales economy in 2019-20.

NSW Minerals Council chief executive Stephen Galilee said the mining industry had kept the economy strong during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Despite the COVID-19 pandemic that gripped the world last year, mining’s contribution to the (New South Wales) economy remained strong in 2019-20, with increases in jobs, salaries and the number of local mining supplier businesses in (New South Wales),” he said.

A total of $10.3 billion was spent by the member companies in the state last financial year, servicing almost 8000 businesses.

“The overall improvement in mining jobs during the last financial year highlights the resilience of our industry during tough times and the importance of keeping mines operating while maintaining safety of miners, their families and mining communities across (New South Wales),” Galilee said.

“These results also demonstrate the importance of mining for thousands of small and medium businesses in regional (New South Wales) and across Sydney that supply our mines.”

The NSW Minerals Council will release the full results of the survey in the coming weeks.