“With Australian businesses being exposed to world class mining operations and research facilities here in Australia, they are able to be competitive on an international scale by seeking and successfully winning a large number of overseas projects,’ ABARE executive director Brian Fisher said.

Australian businesses are currently seen as market leaders in several areas, including software applications for the mining and minerals industries, resulting in a substantial increase in demand by international mining operations.

In 2003-04, the mining technology services sector was estimated to have employed 16,800 full-time or equivalent employees.

Gross sales revenue was an estimated $4.75 billion and gross export sales revenue was estimated at $1.1 billion in 2003-04, and is projected to increase to over $1.2 billion in 2004-05.

In 2003-04, Australia’s most lucrative export markets for mining technology services were located in the East and South East Asian region, with a total export value of

$791 million.

Indonesia contributed $382 million to Australian export earnings, while exports to China were also significant at $90 million.

North America was also an important export market for Australian businesses in the sector, valued at $109 million.