Most Australian mining projects are becoming smaller, more remote and with lower grades of ore. Their small size has been making it harder for mining companies to absorb the large infrastructure costs. This has forced companies to reduce those costs in every way they can._x000D_
Social factors, environmental groups and even tax laws have added other pressures to force down the infrastructure costs for remote projects. For the last ten years, the downward trend in costs has been marked. It seems certain to continue for years into the Future.