Excerpt from article in todays West AustralianReports of the...

Excerpt from article in todays West Australian

Reports of the decline of the State's mining industry have been greatly exaggerated, Colin Barnett has told a major gathering of international diplomats in WA.

Opening the fourth In the Zone conference at the University of WA yesterday, the Premier told delegates mining was "suddenly unfashionable again" before taking aim at commentary suggesting the industry was "done and dusted".

"There's a continual commentary that investment has dried up and we have gone from an investment stage to production and there won't be much more happening," he said.

"That is absolutely false. It is the most clumsy and inaccurate piece of economic analysis I have ever come across. Right now in WA alone there is $150 billion worth of resource projects under construction."