Now is not the time to stop supporting miners because we should be preparing for the next boom.
That's the message from industry bosses to the federal government as it puts the final touches on next Tuesday's budget.
The mining boom is widely regarded as over with falling commodity prices - particularly Australia's number one export iron ore - ripping a $44 billion hole in how much money the government had expected to have for the next four years.
Doom and gloom is being predicted with $40 billion-plus deficits for this year and next: the budget is a Stephen King horror story, according to economist Chris Richardson of Deloitte Access Economics.
More optimistic views are that the boom is not over and demand is still growing, or that mining's slowdown will at least create the economic conditions to support other industries.
The latter is not happening at anywhere near the speed of mining's decline.
In the meantime, the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) wants the federal government to retain tax incentives that support miners, such as the diesel fuel rebate or exploration development incentive.
The former enables miners to not pay tax on fuel, while the latter encourages investment in junior exploration miners by offering tax benefits to shareholders.
Greenfields exploration and discoveries in Australia - areas not near existing deposits - had fallen massively to the lowest level since 2000, AMEC chief executive Simon Bennison says.
That threatens Australia's ability to capitalise on the next mining boom as it did the recent one, with the next cycle more likely to involve base metals such as copper than iron ore and coal.
"We have got an endemic problem here ... investors both retail and institutional have become far more risk averse so there are less funds and less companies actually doing greenfields exploration," Mr Bennison said.
"If governments want revenue streams out of future deposits and future mines they are going to have to get out there and make sure that we have discoveries.
"It should be ringing alarm bells. I am optimistic the government still understands the role resources has in this country."
Meanwhile, the Minerals Council of Australia is disappointed Prime Minister Tony Abbott had flagged that Tuesday's budget will be "dull", when ambition for economic reform is needed.
Deputy chief executive John Kunkel said the council was explicitly calling for no new taxes and was confident the government would not "chase the iron ore price down".
Controlling spending should be the focus instead.
Budget repair was important, but the council wants workplace relations and tax reform to build competitiveness.
One thing the two groups do not agree on, is on who to blame for the iron ore price plunge.
Mr Bennison is critical of the big iron ore miners for being irresponsible in the tone of their statements about expanding, which he said have created perceptions about over-supply.
The MCA, which unlike AMEC counts BHP and Rio as members, believed iron ore prices were beyond Australia's control.
"These things tend to be worked out most effectively through market processes," Mr Kunkel said.
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