The positive outlook is contained in the current list of major minerals and energy projects released last week by Dr Brian Fisher, executive director of ABARE.

With 207 major projects spanning most minerals and energy commodities, 73 are ‘advanced’ projects (under construction or committed to) and 65 projects are new to the list since October last year.

"This is a record number of advanced projects and, at $24.3 billion, the total value of these advanced projects is also a record. The strong indication of an upturn in capital expenditure in the mining sector in 2004-05 is another positive sign for sectoral development," Fisher said.

The 73 advanced projects have a slight weighting toward petroleum and coal projects. These energy industry projects account for 41 per cent of the advanced projects and 44 per cent (or $10.7 billion) of the estimated total capital cost.

Investment interest is also strong in alumina, iron ore, gold and nickel, with projects in those categories accounting for a further 44 per cent of the estimated total capital cost. Additionally, there are 134 projects listed that are at less advanced stages.

"These are mainly projects that are undergoing feasibility studies and while not all of these projects will necessarily proceed to development, they provide a useful indication of the nature and extent of the platform for future sectoral development."

"Despite this, a return to higher levels of exploration expenditure may be necessary to secure a sufficient resource base to enable continued sectoral development over the longer term," Fisher warned.

The minerals and energy projects listing is compiled and updated every six months.