This year’s mineral revenue in the NT has broken the previous record set in 2018-19. Photo: Anton Petrus.
Mineral production in the Northern Territory reached a record revenue value of $6.08 billion in 2025-26, reflecting a strong performance across the resources sector.
The announcement of the record figure comes as the Finocchiaro CLP Government prepares to welcome hundreds of delegates on 2-3 September for NT Resources Week.
This year’s amount is a 39.6 per cent increase on the previous year’s figure of $4.36 billion and surges past the previous record of $4.93 billion, set in 2018-19.
The result also outperformed budget forecasts, meaning Territory residents will benefit from stronger royalties, above the $445 million forecast to go to the Treasury in 2026-27.
More than 6000 direct jobs are sustained in the mining and energy sector through extraction, exploration, processing and production, with an additional 7875 jobs supported by mining throughout the NT.
Minister for Mining and Energy Gerard Maley said the record reflected a government focus on restoring investor confidence, creating the certainty required for economic returns for Territorians.
“The Finocchiaro CLP Government is backing our resources sector because when it grows, opportunities flow right across the Territory — from regional communities through to local businesses and our service and supply chains,” Mr Maley said.
“This sector is delivering thousands of well-paying jobs to hard-working Territorians, but the benefits don’t stop there.
“The expected stronger royalties from the record revenue result means greater funding for the things that matter, like our schools, roads and health services.”
The largest contributor to the revenue result was gold, with a production increase to 13.36 tonnes and the total value of gold sold increasing by 60 per cent to $2.665 billion.
Manganese also was a major factor, increasing production 174 per cent to 5.05 million tonnes as South32’s GEMCO operation on Groote Eylandt brought production to normal levels following 2024’s Cyclone Megan.
Bauxite, too, was up, rising to 13.2 million tonnes from 12.9 million tonnes, valued at $918 million. Zinc largely remained steady at 638,000 tonnes, valued at $897 million.
“The Territory’s resources industry is delivering across commodities, from gold and manganese through to bauxite, zinc, lead and emerging critical minerals,” Mr Maley said.
The NT’s growing lithium industry is in the spotlight, with Core Lithium continuing mining at the Finniss Operations in May, including production restarting at the Grants open pit.
The compilation of reported mineral production for 2025-26 is undertaken by the Department of Mining and Energy, and official data can be found on the Northern Territory Government’s website.
