Western Australia’s gold sector has rarely been in a stronger position. Gold has become the state’s second most valuable commodity, generating a record $36 billion in sales.
National export earnings are forecast to climb further, from $47 billion in 2024–25 to $74 billion by 2026–27, representing a 57 per cent increase in two years.
Rising prices and growing production volumes have created a rare opportunity for miners to invest beyond the next production cycle. Output is on track to reach approximately 369 tonnes by 2026–27, up from 293 tonnes today.
For executives and investors, the temptation is to treat this as a classic commodity cycle: ride the price, expand production, manage costs.
But this boom represents a far greater opportunity: to reinvest profits and adopt an AI-enabled strategy to both digitise and decarbonise gold mining operations, unlocking sustainable growth and lasting value for the industry and communities.
A sector at a crossroads
Our recent global research report, Powered for Change, indicates that mining sector more broadly is currently at a pivotal crossroads in the global push for sustainability.
The industry is simultaneously a significant contributor to emissions and a foundational enabler of decarbonisation – supplying the copper, lithium and rare earths that the energy transition demands.
That dual role is particularly relevant for WA gold producers. The Goldfields are remote, energy-hungry and water-intensive. Operating in an environment of tightening ESG scrutiny, rising energy costs and a labour market that remains structurally tight, the economics of gold production are more complex than the spot price suggests.
One-off pilots and isolated initiatives will not decarbonise mining at the pace required. What is needed instead is a long-term, AI-enabled strategy in which early investments compound over time.
Four levers that matter
Accenture’s research identifies four critical factors that separate leaders from laggards in industrial decarbonisation, each of which maps directly onto conditions in the WA Goldfields.
The first is energy efficiency. WA’s gold mines are among the most remote operations in the world, relying on diesel generation and long supply chains. Existing land-use approvals give miners a structural advantage in co-locating renewable energy – turning an operational liability into a low-carbon energy asset that can serve both the mine and surrounding communities.
The second is partnerships. Building low-carbon infrastructure at scale in remote WA is prohibitively expensive for any single operator. Our research points to the value of cross-industry collaboration – and even cooperation with direct competitors – to share infrastructure costs, pool risk and co-develop capabilities such as battery storage and energy-efficient machinery. Kalgoorlie’s density of operating mines makes it a natural candidate for this model.
The third factor is community engagement and the maintenance of a Social Licence to Operate. In WA, this means navigating traditional owner agreements, local government expectations and fly-in fly-out community dynamics with increasing sophistication. This is not peripheral to the operating model – it is central to it, particularly as mines expand into new regions.
The fourth and arguably most transformative lever is technology. AI, digital twins, predictive maintenance and autonomous operations are enabling miners to preserve institutional knowledge, optimise ore processing in real time and compound operational efficiencies across the life of a mine.
The case for acting now
Technology investment in the mining sector is expected to grow by more than 25 per cent by 2026. For WA gold executives who may have held off on making strategic technology investments to fast-track decarbonisation in the past, the timing could not be more opportune.
The companies building AI-enabled operating models and clean energy platforms today are the ones that will hold a durable cost and regulatory advantage as capital becomes increasingly conditional on ESG performance.
Gold prices have created an extraordinary opportunity. The miners that use today’s windfall to build lower-cost, lower-emissions and AI-enabled operations will be the ones best positioned long after this commodity cycle has passed.
By Steven Walsh - Accenture Australia
