Mining billionaire Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest has pledged $70 million to bushfire recovery efforts.

The Fortescue Metals boss and his wife Nicola will make the massive donation through their Minderoo Foundation charity.

He said $10 million would go to immediate relief for fire-hit communities through the Australian Red Cross and Salvation Army.

Mining billionaire Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest and his wife Nicola (pictured together centre at a Salvation Army event) has pledged $70 million to bushfire recovery efforts

The same amount will mobilise an army of more than 1,200 specialist volunteers from the mining and agriculture sectors in his home state of Western Australia to help rebuild devastated towns.

The remaining $50 million will be invested in a national 'long-term blueprint for fire and disaster resilience' to develop new ways of fighting and preventing bushfires.

'With incredible courage and determination, Australians have united to help those devastated by these bushfires,' Mr Forrest told reporters in Perth on Thursday.

'We recognise that we don't have all the answers, but we want to understand what communities need and do our bit to help them.

'We are putting $50 million on the table to create resilience in order to encourage other companies and philanthropists from Australia and around the world to build a resilient Australia so we might avoid a tragedy striking to this extent ever again.'

NSW Rural Fire Service crews fight the Gospers Mountain Fire as it impacts a structure in Bilpin on December 21

The Fortescue Metals boss and his wife Nicola will make the massive donation through their Minderoo Foundation charity

Ms Forrest said the tragic loss of lives, the scale of destruction of homes and properties and the devastation to the the landscape was difficult to comprehend.

'We hope the Minderoo Foundation's contribution will complement existing efforts, provide hope to those hurting and encourage others to help in any way they can.'

Mr Forrest has a net worth of $12.8 billion and is consistently ranked among the richest Australians.

The couple's donation dwarfs any other single contribution to bushfire recovery or volunteer firefighting organisations.

A fundraiser for the NSW Rural Fire Service set up by comedian Celeste Barber has attracted $48 million in donations from 1.2 million people.

Fellow mining magnate Gina Rinehart was chastised by Barber for not appearing to have made a donation as she with a $14 billion fortune is one of Australia's richest people.

A spokesman for Gina Rinehart (pictured at Flemington Racecourse in November) said the billionaire prefers to donate privately

However, a spokesman for Ms Rinehart told Daily Mail Australia the Hancock Prospecting chairwoman prefers to give privately.

The spokesman said the mining billionaire had contributed to a collection for firefighting at a function at her home where 150 guests were present on Tuesday night.

Other efforts have raised millions more for various bushfire-related causes, including the billion animals affected by the fires.

Celebrities from Chris Hemsworth to Prince Harry have lined up to donate millions of their own, and call on their fans to give generously.

The next biggest publicly-known donation after Mr and Mrs Forrest is $5 million by the Packer family.

The federal government has committed at least $2 billion towards the bushfire recovery and established a new national agency to coordinate efforts on the ground.

The NSW and Victorian governments have set up similar agencies at a state level.