The federal government may be ready after all to adjust some elements of the mining tax to accommodate the needs of the various parts of the resources industry as Resources Minister Martin Ferguson gave hints that even Prime Minister Kevin Rudd gets some pressure from the Labour party to forge a compromise with the mining sector.

He said that the prime minister had so far refused to adhere to a timetable for resolving the tax row though ongoing negotiations are reportedly proceeding smoothly, according to Mr Rudd's latest pronouncement.

On his part, the resource minister said that three groups representing the industry are discussing with him the possibility of discarding the 'one-size-fits-all' approach, as he stressed that he is "taking on board the generous transitional arrangements that we indicated that we're prepared to think about."

Mr Ferguson identified the three groups as the petroleum sector, the low-value resources sector such as gravel and sand and the minerals sector.

He said that the government is considering the potential nature of the industry's proposed transitional arrangements though he asserted that the ministry has already discounted the possibility of altering the headline tax rate of 40 percent for different sectors.

The prime minister has informed the parliament yesterday to stay hopeful amidst calls that the mining tax should be junked altogether as he gave assurance that negotiations with the resources industry were progressing.

However, opposition leader Tony Abbot scored the government for losing its grip on the situation, adding that "what Mr Rudd wants to do is have a great big fight followed by a great big backflip."

On the other hand, Greens Senator Bob Brown called on the prime minister to stand firm against the miners, as he reminded Mr Rudd that "this is a tax which is to the benefit of all Australians and all the lobbying on the prime minister's office in this Parliament at the moment by the big miners is an example of dysfunction in democracy."