Mineral Resources Pay Rates 2026: FIFO, Site & Award Floor Pay
What Mineral Resources workers should be paid in 2026 — the Mining Industry Award floor by classification, casual loading, penalties, and where the Mineral Resources enterprise agreements sit.
Senior Workplace Relations Writer · GradDip Employment Relations, Griffith University
Who covers Mineral Resources (MinRes) workers — award or agreement?
Mineral Resources is a diversified mining services and production company operating iron ore and lithium projects alongside crushing and mineral-processing contract services through subsidiaries including Crushing Services International and Process Minerals International, with a largely permanent workforce across mine sites and processing operations.
The Mining Industry Award 2020 sets the floor for site-based roles. Our corpus holds no current registered Mineral Resources enterprise agreement, which means the award tables below are what should be on the payslip unless a specific site is covered by an agreement outside our corpus.
The federal awards relevant to Mineral Resources (MinRes) roles:
- Mining Industry Award 2020 (MA000011)
Workforce snapshot. In its 2024-25 report to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Mineral Resources Limited declared 6,852 employees across 7 reporting entities — 1.7% casual and 22.2% women. Source: WGEA 2025 Public Data File, data.gov.au (CC-BY 3.0 AU).
Mining award floor (1 July 2026)
The Mining Industry Award 2020 (MA000011) publishes each grade two ways: the base weekly rate (÷38 = hourly) and an 'ordinary hourly' rate that folds in the award's all-purpose industry allowance. Both are shown:
| Classification | Base hourly | Ordinary hourly (incl. industry allowance) | Casual (base + 25%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry level (first 3 months) | $26.44/hr | $27.53/hr | $33.05/hr |
| Level 1 (basic — labourer, trainee operator) | $27.56/hr | $28.65/hr | $34.45/hr |
| Level 2 (intermediate — plant operator) | $28.58/hr | $29.67/hr | $35.72/hr |
| Level 3 (competent — experienced operator, trades assistant) | $29.45/hr | $30.54/hr | $36.81/hr |
| Level 4 (advanced — tradesperson) | $31.42/hr | $32.51/hr | $39.28/hr |
| Level 5 (advanced specialist) | $33.47/hr | $34.56/hr | $41.84/hr |
| Level 6 (dual trade) | $35.11/hr | $36.20/hr | $43.89/hr |
| Level 7 (dual trade instrumentation) | $36.53/hr | $37.62/hr | $45.66/hr |
Coal mines sit on the Black Coal Mining Industry Award instead, which uses a 35-hour week — our BHP pay rates page explains the difference. FIFO rosters add the award's overtime, shift and weekend loadings on top of these figures.
Source: Fair Work Commission modern awards pay database, current-operative rates (1 July 2026 annual wage review). Casual figures add the 25% casual loading.
Does Mineral Resources (MinRes) have an enterprise agreement?
As at 22 September 2026, our corpus of 14,141 federally registered enterprise agreements holds no current agreement for Mineral Resources (MinRes). That usually means one of three things: the employer pays on the award (or on individual contracts above it), the agreement covering you is registered under a different entity name (check the employer name on your payslip and search our agreements database), or — for state public-sector employers — pay is set by a state award or agreement outside the federal register. If you have a copy of an agreement that names Mineral Resources (MinRes), it beats the award figures above.
Common mining pay issues at Mineral Resources (MinRes)
The patterns worth checking on a Mineral Resources (MinRes) payslip:
- FIFO roster averaging that quietly loses overtime or public holiday loadings.
- Wrong level for the competency actually held.
- Labour-hire workers paid below the site's directly employed crew for the same work — the same-job-same-pay rules now apply.
- Travel and standby time unpaid.
What to do if your pay looks wrong
Match your payslip to your classification in the agreement (or the award tables above), and price any gap with our back-pay calculator. Raise it in writing with payroll or your manager first — most underpayments are fixed at that step. Unresolved, the Fair Work Ombudsman (13 13 94) recovers underpayments at no cost, up to six years back, and your union can run the claim for you. Not sure which instrument covers you? Ask our AI advisor with your role and location.
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Official resources
General information and estimates only — not legal, financial or tax advice. Always check your specific award, agreement or contract, or a qualified professional, before you rely on the result.
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Nine years in Australian workplace relations — Queensland hospitality HR, then retail ER in Brisbane and Northern NSW. Graduate Diploma in Employment Relations (Griffith University, 2018). Writes about award interpretation, underpayment recovery, and casual conversion. Member of the AHRI since 2019. Based in Paddington, Brisbane.