Australia has only just begun to tumble over the mining investment cliff new forecasts suggest, with mining investment set to fall a further 58 per cent over the next three years after sliding 11 per cent in 2014-15.

The BIS Shrapnel *Mining in Australia* report says one consolation is that production volumes should climb six per cent per year over the next five years led by LNG exports.

Australia's cashed up pure-play coal miners say they are looking at acquisitions. Credit:Rob Homer

Excluding oil and gas, mining investment had already halved since the peak, and would fall a further 40 per cent over the next two years: a 70 per cent decline overall from top to bottom.

Oil and gas investment would slide 67 per cent over the next two years as projects were completed. It was "highly unlikely" they would be replaced with similar sized projects. Investment in oil and gas would stabilise at around $20 billion per annum, down from the present $61.3 billion. It would be predominantly smaller scale floating LNG projects and brownfield expansions at existing sites.