JUNIOR iron ore miners have been offered a “relief package” by the WA Government.

It comes following slumping iron ore prices, up to 50 per cent in the past year, and increases in production from mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton.

An increase in iron ore exports has resulted in an oversupply to the market.

In recent weeks mid-tier miners such as BC Iron and Atlas Iron have been forced to slash jobs to cut costs.

Fortescue Metals Group workers are also expecting job cuts following several senior executives leaving the company in December.

The WA government said it will give temporary assistance to junior iron ore miners on a “case by case basis” as they restructure operations in challenging market conditions.

Assistance will be in the form of a 50 per cent rebate on eligible hematite iron ore royalties for up to 12 months — that’s if the iron ore price remains below an average of $90 per tonne.

“The iron ore industry plays a hugely important role in the Western Australian economy, accounting for 56 per cent of the state’s exports and employing more than 61,000 people in 2013-14,” Mr Barnett said.

At the end of the assistance period, rebates will be fully repayable over a two-year period.

State Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Marmion said this is not a handout but a deferral.

“These junior producers extract the resources the big companies often won’t mine,” he said.

“They use local contractors and local businesses and overall this means additional jobs and royalties.”

The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) welcomed this announcement.

“Any relief the Government can provide during these challenging times is much appreciated by the industry,” AMEC chief executive Simon Bennison said.

“Companies have just about reached the limit of cutting costs. The last thing we want to see is more retrenchments or closures.”

Recently, unions representing 75,000 WA workers have called for an ‘urgent” jobs summit amid fears our economy is “driving off a cliff”.

Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union state secretary Steve McCartney said the hundreds of jobs shed in the past few months by resources companies could be dwarfed by the bloodletting to come in the next two years.

Both the Gorgon liquefied natural gas project and Roy Hill iron ore mine will complete construction next year — leaving 10,000 construction workers looking for new jobs.

With the Wheatstone LNG project set to be completed in 2016, another 6000 construction jobs will go.

Mr McCartney said 1300 jobs had been lost in the manufacturing industry alone in the past 12 months.