Boom in Australian mining 'could continue'

16 February, 2012 Much will depend on China's economy avoiding a "hard landing", according to an expert.

Australia's current mining boom and the subsequent investment in the sector could be set to continue, according to an expert.

Anoop Singh, director of the International Monetary Fund's Asia and Pacific department, told Dow Jones Newswires Wednesday that much will depend on whether China's economy has a "hard landing".

This would mean that the Bank of Australia would have to resist applying further interest rate cuts.

"The growth outlook in Australia is not only firm, it is strong. If, as we believe there will be, a soft landing in China, it's possible that investment in resources could be even larger than expected," he added.

Recent figures suggest that there is currently more than A$400 billion is planned for investment in the mining industry down under because of Asian demand for iron ore and coal.

Standard & Poor's added that Australia is becoming increasingly reliant on China, and there could be a large knock-on effect should China slow down significantly.

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