Resources boom not over, SA conference told

Submitted 6/05/2009

APP

Australia's resources boom is far from over, but there is scant hope it will get a boost from the looming federal budget, a South Australian expert says.

South Australian Minerals and Petroleum Expert Group (SAMPEG) chairman Ian Gould says the budget should use infrastructure spending to stimulate the mining and resources industry.

"The sector knows there is a tough federal budget coming up, and we do not have confidence that it will necessarily stimulate the resources sector," Dr Gould told a conference in Adelaide today.

"Yet incremental federal spending on mining-related infrastructure can provide a considerable boost to developers in getting major job-producing mining projects off the ground.

"Any budget stimulus in this direction will get more bang for its buck than many other stimulus packages."

It was wrong to believe the resources boom was over, he said.

"Nothing is further from the truth - the country's resources sector is not in a bell curve scenario," Dr Gould said.

"Demand and prices are still relatively strong across most metals commodities, although production costs constitute a challenge.

"The minerals industry economically is the way forward in the future.

"It hasn't failed and is not in a bell curve trajectory.

"The proof of that is that it accounts for at least 50 per cent of Australia's merchandise exports, and that is not a picture that should cause despair."