Of course they are going to come out with a new iPad Mini, I just bought a new one to replace the one I had.
Apple can be hard to figure out. The rumor of the demise of the mini line is based on the idea that their isn't enough room between the iPhone plus size and the smaller iPad pro line for the mini. In the past, Apple has tried to avoid having too much overlap between product lines.
It took a long time for the iMac line to get updated and a lot of people thought they were going to phase out their desktop line, especial after an iMac update had been rumored and failed to appear several quarters in a row. Instead, they have come out with a complete refresh of the line (about two months after I replace my iMac, sigh).