A new report has estimated that Newcrest’s Cadia Valley gold mining operations are adding about $120 million to the Orange economy.

One only has to look at the European car dealerships, new coffee shops and the prosperous business district to see the direct and positive effect that mining has brought to the city.

With the new Golden Cross Resources $300 million gold and copper mine to be developed near Molong, it’s no wonder that a prominent local manufacturer recently revealed that the mining industry sees the Orange region as “the new Kalgoorlie.”

When one visits other regional cities in NSW that lack a mining base, it’s easy enough to see the difference that the industry has made to Orange.

But it would be wise to remember that mining is not the only high-performing industry in the region.

The Electrolux plant, recently celebrating 65 years in operation, produces fridges for a world market while competing against countries that enjoy government-backed tax breaks, artificially low currencies, and wages far lower than we enjoy in Australia.

After 10 tough years of drought, local farmers, fighting a high Australian dollar (caused, ironically by the mining boom) and the dumping policies of competitors, is still fulfilling our destiny to help feed and clothe the world.

In the 1950s, one of the auto barons of Detroit, then the beating heart of America’s car manufacturing industry, said: “What is good for General Motors is good for America.”

It’s easy to now say the same thing about the mining industry and Orange. But in providing a positive business environment for mining to develop in the area, we should remember that the minerals boom won’t last forever.

When the heat of the boom cools, there will still be an Orange requiring services, roads, parks, and water for our residents. And only then will the city know if we provided for the future, or squandered a golden age.