“We should as a state know what resources exist here,” he told reporters on Wednesday.

“There’s been a ban on exploration of uranium in NSW for 25 years, it makes no sense not to know what resources are in the state.”

But he said the government only wanted to look at exploration at this stage, and a discussion on the merits of uranium mining would follow.

“Cabinet will be considering (exploration) early in the new year,” he said.

“Overturning the ban would then enable a sensible and mature discussion to be held as to whether we go into mining of those resources.”

O’Farrell ruled out nuclear power as an energy source for the state.

“Nuclear power is not an option for NSW… it would have to be located on the coast (and) there’s no part of the NSW coast line I’d be prepared to give up for a nuclear power station.”