A rout in Australia’s largest mining companies has created a significant buying opportunity according to some of the biggest investors in the sector, who are looking beyond iron ore for the next leg of returns.

Resources stocks on the ASX 200 sank 11.1 per cent in the first six months of this year after a rally in base metals in April and May rapidly unwound in June as traders took profits and strategists questioned whether prices had detached from their fundamentals.