IGF Guidance For Governments: Leveraging Local Content Decisions for Sustainable Development CASE STUDY AUSTRALIA: HORIZONTAL LINKAGES POSITIVE SPILLOVERS THROUGH HORIZONTAL LINKAGES OVERVIEW LEVEL OF OPERATION: National; industry GOVERNMENT ROLE: Regulator (initial stage); program facilitator LINK TO POLICY ADOPTED: see Australian Innovation System Report & Mining Equipment, Technology and Services Growth Centre Australia has achieved modern levels of KEY COMMODITIES: development as a mineral-based economy, thus avoiding the so-called “resource curse.” The extent, Coal (world lead), bauxite, alumina, iron ore, location and diversity of minerals available helped uranium, zinc, LNG1 the development of upstream and horizontal TOTAL NATURAL RESOURCE RENTS linkages, but government policy also played a part. (AS % OF GDP) (2015): While the government did not target horizontal 2 4.8 per cent linkages explicitly, it set the framework for them to occur through enabling the market process, NATIONAL EXTRACTIVES COMPANY: supporting skills and innovation and encouraging N/A (Although a number of large multinational strong upstream linkages. First, it created an mining firms are based in Australia, including BHP enabling environment by instituting investor- Billiton, Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals Group and friendly reforms and reversing policies hampering Newcrest Mining) the development of the sector. Second, it helped ensure a highly skilled labour force and continuous UNDP HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX VALUE (2016): knowledge diffusion through strong education 0.939 (Global Rank 2)3 policies and a National System of Innovation. This 1 Department of Industry, Innovation and Science. (2017). Australian mineral commodities. Canberra, Australia: Government of Australia. Retrieved from https://industry.gov.au/resource/Mining/AustralianMineralCommodities/Pages/default.aspx 2 World Bank Group. (2017). Total natural resource rents (% of GDP). Washington, DC. Retrieved from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP. TOTL.RT.ZS 3 United Nations Development Programme. (2016). Human Development Reports: Australia. Geneva, Switzerland. Retrieved from http://hdr.undp.org/en/ countries/profiles/AUS. 2 benefited mining firms but also supported the market by capitalization and almost one-third of all development of specialist supplier firms, which firms listed. Australia is also home to some of the played a crucial role in Australia’s diversification world’s biggest mining firms. In 2014, among the top into new resource products and other industries, 10 global mining giants, three were Australian. BHP and thereby its economic development. This Billiton is one of the world’s largest and most diverse process relied heavily on the development of mining firms; its Australian operations include iron capability-led horizontal linkages, confirming ore, nickel, coal, copper and petroleum. The British- the key relationship between successful linkages Australian multinational Rio Tinto is the world’s third development and long-term economic growth in largest mining company, with the second largest iron ore assets in the world, as well as large exploitations a mining-rich country. Finally, Australian policy- of coal, copper, aluminum, diamond and uranium. makers continue to support linkages with the Fortescue Metal Group boasts large iron ore mining sector through local content policies, which operations globally. have adjusted for the changing marketplace and changes in competitive threats. Australia is not just a producer and exporter of raw materials. It has one of the strongest upstream supplier bases, Australia is home to some of the particularly mining equipment, world’s biggest mining firms. In 2014, technology and services. It is estimated that at least 60 among the top 10 global mining per cent of the world’s mines operate with Australian- giants, three were Australian. designed software. This supply base provides specialized equipment for extraction and processing, highly sophisticated technology and expert services, such AUSTRALIA’S MINING SECTOR as engineering, mapping and geological analysis. Importantly, the mining equipment, technology Australia has been at the forefront of successive and services (METS) sector now makes up nearly global resource booms over the last two centuries, 7 per cent of GDP and employs 7 per cent of the and the mining industry has shaped the country’s Australian labour force, more than the mining socioeconomic history. Its mineral reserves are vast, sector itself.4 diverse and of high quality. Australia is the world’s largest producer of bauxite and iron ore, and the second largest of alumina, lead and manganese. It BRIEF HISTORY OF is the third largest supplier of nickel, gold, zinc and AUSTRALIA’S MINING SECTOR uranium, and boasts the third largest commercially viable deposits of diamonds. It is also the fourth Resources have historically represented the majority largest producer of aluminum, coal and silver, and share of Australia’s exports, accounting for more the fifth largest producer of tin. than 70 per cent of goods sold abroad throughout the 20th century, although in 1938, when the In 2014, the mining sector (excluding services to country began to export iron ore on a small scale, mining) contributed 8.7 per cent of Australia’s GDP. the government imposed an embargo on all iron ore Furthermore, the resources sector represents almost shipments to conserve the remaining supply. The 20 per cent of the Australian Stock Exchange embargo was lifted only in the 1960s, after which 4 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2017). Local content policies in minerals-exporting countries: Case studies. Paris: Working Party of the Trade Committee, OECD. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/officialdocuments/publicdisplaydocumentpdf/?cote=TAD/ TC/WP(2016)3/PART2/FINAL&docLanguage=En 3 the state started to encourage exploration and construction. A rapid series of new discoveries, not only of iron ore5 but also of copper, nickel, bauxite, uranium, phosphate rock and petroleum accelerated the growth in minerals production dramatically. Figure 1. Australia’s mine production (selected minerals), 1844–1998 Source: Wright, & Czelusta, 2004.6 5 By 1967, Australia’s proven reserves of high-grade iron ore were more than 40 times the level of 10 years earlier. 6 Wright, G., & Czelusta, J. (2004). Why economies slow: The myth of the resource curse. Challenge 47(2), 6–38. Retrieved from https://web.stanford. edu/~write/papers/Wright%20Res%20Curse.pdf 4 Australia’s long-term growth in extractive industries products, automakers, industrial equipment, ships was the result of the successive discovery and and chemicals. To date, Australia has continued to development of new resources. The country’s ability rely heavily upon its mining and related sectors. to remain a resource-based economy throughout decades of development hinged upon its capacity Attempts at explaining Australia’s success to repeatedly find, develop and grow new extractive bring into focus the role of horizontal linkages. resources in the second half of the 20th century, as Running counter to the resource curse hypothesis, reflected in Table 1. the successful long-term growth of Australia’s economy is closely related to dynamics in its extractives 1950s Oil sector. A central feature of 1950s-1960s Rutile/ilmenite Australia’s extractive sector is the strong linkages with 1960s Aluminum other parts of the economy, 1970s Natural gas including the capital goods 1980s Uranium industry, business services and 1990s Coal seam gas the science/R&D system. Pol, Carroll, & Robertson (2002)8 2000 LNG explained these dynamic linkages between sectors in the Table 1. Successive development of extractive Australian economy by distinguishing between industries in Australia, 1950–2000. “enabling” sectors, that produce new problem- solving products, and “recipient” sectors buying 7 Source: Ville S. and Wicken O. (2012) these products. Their work demonstrates how innovation occurred in the economy that permitted exploitation of new resources. Extractive industries, MINING SECTOR AND in their quest for new technologies and processes ECONOMIC GROWTH: to improve efficiency of existing operations, spur DEVELOPMENT THROUGH innovations in related upstream sectors. In turn, these innovations are applied to and benefit HORIZONTAL LINKAGES other extractive industries and other parts of the economy. In Australia, mining services and mining Australia also represents one of the most equipment technologies developed as problem striking success stories in mineral-based solvers for the existing resource industry. The economic development, defying the notion that capabilities developed by the capital equipment natural resource-based economies are bound companies and mining services firms became to experience slow or incomplete development. a crucial asset for the expansion of the mining Beginning in the 1960s, the country saw a industry, thus creating a positive feedback loop. prolonged period of simultaneous occurrence This process also created more horizontal linkages of technological progress, successful minerals as knowledge developed for the resource sector exploration and economic growth. As the diffused into many other parts of the economy. Australian mineral sector’s share of GDP expanded through the mid-1980s, new and old Australian The OECD (2017)9 takes this argument further. industries also benefited, including metal and steel They argue that this specialist knowledge is better 7