Releasing a special edition of its Western Australia Index at the Diggers and Dealers Forum, in Kalgoorlie, this week, Deloitte clients and markets partner Tim Richards said the strong increase in lithium and gold prices contributed to this growth.
“The success of lithium miners has been matched only by the luster of the region’s established gold sector, with lithium and gold companies among the top three movers in terms of market capitalisation growth,” he added.
Further, Richards said that lithium was “clearly the surprise package” for 2016. “We have seen a price increase of more than 200% as excitement continues to build around the potential for lithium batteries within electric vehicles and general power storage devices.
“While these results demonstrate early signs of recovery in the resources sector, we expect the next wave of growth and productivity to be driven by an investment in truly transformative innovation, which extends beyond the recent focus on cost reduction and operational efficiency,” he noted…
Source: Western Australia mining sector picking up pace – Deloitte