Orica chief executive Alberto Calderon believes the Pilbara's iron ore producers will continue to prosper at the expense of overseas projects.
Mr Calderon said Australia's location and lower-cost production gave it a distinct advantage over nascent rivals.
"Australia is so uniquely placed that it will kill projects probably in Africa, projects in Brazil," he said on the sidelines of a WA Mining Club function. 
"Certainly all of this Africa region that was going to be the next frontier, that will never happen. The beneficiary of that is Australia and that's because it's so well put on the cost curve."
The global explosives and chemicals supplier's leader said while there would no longer be big capital investments in iron ore and coal, it was a different story with copper.
"Copper, I'm much more bullish," Mr Calderon said. "In two or three years, copper will be in a different place just because there's not enough supply."
He was starting see more stability in global mining and said it would take much less than the 10 years some observers thought it would take for recovery.
"When I talk to our customers, I get a sense of saying 'well, lets get on with it'."
The new Yara-operated explosive materials plant on the Pilbara's Burrup Peninsula in which Orica has a 45 per cent stake was undergoing operational trials, Mr Calderon said.
He said the technical ammonia nitrate plant would start working in the second half of this year and fully ramp up in 18 to 24 months.
The facility - which had once been expected to start operating last year - had endured "normal teething problems". 
It was "ideally located" near the mines of Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals Group, BHP Billiton and Roy Hill Holdings. 
"There's a lot of growth there, so we're quite happy about how that plant will perform in the 30-year and even in the medium term.
"There may be a bit of an excess supply for some time; two, three years but not more than that. The growth there will absorb (it)."