According to the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics, total export earnings from mineral resources for the country were down 3.4% when compared with the previous quarter to reach $A26.4 billion - which equated to a drop in earnings of $900 million.

Among the few commodities to report strong increases in earnings was thermal coal, which gained 3% - or $48 million - to $1.69 billion for the quarter.

Production and export trends in the coal sector were in line with previous quarters with the bulk of the country's total coal production of 105.21 million tonnes coming from Queensland - 56.44Mt - and 25.89Mt produced from underground operations.

About 6Mt of metallurgical coal was exported to the European Union, an increase on the previous quarter, while export to Japan dropped from 6.76Mt in June's quarter to 5.56Mt.

In thermal coal exports the main supply country was Japan - which consumed 16.25Mt of the 27.56Mt total - up from 14.93Mt during the previous quarter.

Earnings from the addition of the North Wambo longwall - commissioned during the quarter - are not expected to impact the ABARE figures until next quarter.

ABARE executive director Phillip Glyde said he expected gains in the next quarter's results.

"We are now starting to see the benefits of recent high levels of investment in the Australian mining industry, with the volume of mineral resources production and exports increasing," Glyde said.