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.
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.
"The industry continues to be squeezed given a fundamental global oversupply now plaguing most commodities," said BIS Shrapnel analyst Rubhen Jeya. "The slowdown in demand from China is the predominant factor driving weaker demand growth overall, while a fight for market share from lower cost producers is still adding sharply to supply. These conditions are expected to persist over several years."
"Eventually, the current strike in investment will eradicate the oversupply and allow stabilisation and recovery in commodity prices, but this is not expected until towards the end of the decade. As China continues to shift its engine of growth from investment to consumption, we will eventually see a staggered recovery across most metals and minerals, particularly those which will service the growth in middle class consumer demand, such as copper, gold, and base metals."
However Mr Jeya said thermal coal faced a much riskier future as energy and environmental policies evolved starting with the climate talks in Paris in   December.
Deep cost cuts and smaller budgets had spread to maintenance operations with a higher portion of maintenance being brought in-house. Essential maintenance was not yet regarded as "fat" that could be cut.
A further 20,000 jobs would be lost in mining over the years to 2017-18 on top of the 40,000 lost since the investment boom peaked.