According to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, total exploration expenditure in NSW was up 24% from $72.5 million in the September 2019 quarter to almost $90 million in the December 2019 quarter - almost double the level for the same quarter in 2018.

NSW Minerals Council CEO Stephen Galilee said the exploration sector was critical to mining and the long-term economic future of regional NSW. 

"Our state has high quality deposits of a wide range of minerals including gold, copper, nickel, cobalt, silver, zinc, lead and coal, providing many opportunities for future jobs and investment," he said.

The 2019 Major Projects survey shows resource and energy commodity investment has recently stabilised after years of decline, with emerging prospects for recovery.

The value of committed projects in October 2019 stood at $30 billion, almost unchanged from the level recorded in the year to October 2018.

The federal government's Outlook for resources and energy investment suggests that this may be near the bottom of the mining investment cycle.

"While there are a swag of brownfield projects, a lack of greenfield investments remains a key challenge to Australia's longer-term prospects as a resource commodity supplier," it said.