Mining Magazine Spring 2024

EDITOR’S WELCOME

WP:

Journalist

Business Development

ith the lingering chill in the air, you could almost be forgiven for forgetting that spring is very much upon us. Though the temperature is still relatively cool, we’ve filled our Spring edition with all the hottest topics across the mining industry, to be distributed at some of the sector’s biggest events.

This issue marks Mining’s two-year anniversary and we’re celebrating the occasion by bringing you the biggest stories and analysis from key players across the resources sector.

The last few months have seen industry make significant headway on its decarbonisation journey, with electrification of onsite machinery occurring in leaps and bounds and major miners partnering to secure renewable energy for operations. Exploration shows no sign of slowing down and uranium, tungsten, magnetite and vanadium projects are all in various stages of progress.

David Michael, about the importance of industry events and what he’s looking forward to at WA Mining.

The Spring issue of Mining takes a deep dive into the topic of sustainability and the many ways this presents itself in the industry. We also use our crystal ball to glimpse into the future of the sector, unpack the technological advancements boosting operations and explore how the next generation of miners are being inspired.

Mining is also proud to be the official show guide of the 2024 WA Mining Exhibition and Conference, compiling

With additional features on minerals in focus, environmental management and the circular economy, Mining keeps its finger on the pulse of the industry to bring you the topics that are rocking the sector.

As always, if there’s a topic, project, technology or challenge you’d like to read about in future editions, please feel free to flick me an email – I'd love to hear from you.

Rebecca Todesco Editor

Drop Rebecca a line at rebecca.todesco@primecreative.com.au or feel free to call her on 03 9690 8766 to let her know what you think. Don't forget to follow

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Rock-chip sampling carried out at Aurumin Limited’s 100 per cent-owned Central Sandstone project uncovered high-grade iron.

Located 520km northeast of Perth, the project is part of the company’s Sandstone Operations, which also includes the Birrigrin and Johnson Range Projects, and has a total resource of 946koz (gold).

The drilling work recognised an opportunity for high-grade iron ore in addition to gold mineralisation, returning up to 67 per cent iron. Planning for drill testing of the high-grade iron formations is underway.

ALBEMARLE PRESERVES LONG -TERM COMPETITIVENESS AT WA GOLD SITE IRON POTENTIAL

Albemarle launched a review of its operating and cost structure, which saw it take immediate asset actions at the Kemerton lithium hydroxide conversion site in Western Australia.

The company said it took these steps to proactively respond to ongoing industry headwinds – particularly in the lithium value chain – and to preserve long-term competitiveness.

As part of the initial review to optimise its network, Albemarle announced changes to the operating footprint at its Kemerton site, including:

Aurumin’s Managing Director, Brad Valiukas, said the results represent a real discovery.

“There is a 6km strike of banded iron outcrops with potential widths of five to 40m requiring further exploration. The first-pass rock chip sampling returned numerous high-grade DSO quality results, with a peak of 67 per cent and represent an exciting complementary opportunity at Central Sandstone.

“Full credit to the team for identifying and working up this opportunity. Generations of operators

have walked over this potential and we are delighted to bring it forward. Sandstone is already on the haulage route for iron ore producers to Geraldton Port.

“Aurumin’s focus is firmly on Sandstone and generating the critical mass required for future production. The close proximity of the iron ore to some of our gold deposits, not to mention the potential value of the iron ore itself, could significantly alter the project’s economics. We are already spoilt for targets, and this adds a big one to the mix.”

♦ Stopping construction activities at Train 3

♦ Idling production at Train 2 and placing the unit in care and maintenance

♦ Focusing manufacturing efforts on the continued ramp and qualification of Train 1

Albemarle said its actions regarding Kemerton are part of a broader effort that focuses on the following key areas:

♦ Preserving Albemarle’s world-class resource advantages

♦ Optimising its global conversion network

♦ Improving the company’s cost competitiveness and efficiency

♦ Reducing capital intensity

♦ Enhancing Albemarle’s financial flexibility

Albemarle Chairman and CEO, Kent Masters, said, “The long-term growth potential for our end markets remains strong, and we plan to leverage our core capabilities while ensuring we remain competitive.

“Given the dynamics of the global markets we serve, we must be able to pivot and pace as necessary to maintain our leading position.”

Tailings waste from mine operations flows into tailings pond.

SUCCESSFULLY MANAGING MINE TAILINGS

Tailings management is a major challenge in the mining industry and requires continuous, efficient oversight by professionals and machinery adhering to the highest standards.

For decades, tailings pumping systems have been optimised to meet the rigorous demands of the production process. Additionally, ponds or dams used for tailings have limited storage capacity, necessitating effective pumping systems to handle maximum solid concentrations.

Positive displacement pumps are ideal for this task, extending the lifespan of ponds or dams by accommodating a wide range of solid percentages in the tailings. Kelair Pumps offers three reliable technologies: piston-diaphragm pumps, piston pumps and peristaltic (hose) pumps.

Efficient and sustainable solutions

Kelair Pumps Australia provides different options for handling paste and mud

tailings: the Abel SH and HMQ series. The Abel SH piston pump, driven by a hydraulic unit, efficiently pumps highly viscous tailings. The Abel HMQ, a modern piston-diaphragm pump, features spring-returned check valves and a membrane separating the hydraulic piston from the paste, offering smooth, low-pulse pumping.

Both pumps handle conventional and cemented tailings with yield stress values over 350pa. The Abel HMQ achieves flow rates up to 450m³/h at 230bar, while the Abel SH handles up to 110m³/h at 160bar.

Water considerations

Water management is crucial in mining. Peristaltic pumps, like the Albin hose pump, ensure only fluid contacts

the hose, preventing contamination. Increasingly, mining clients are choosing peristaltic technology.

An Albin ALH-125D pump was recently selected for a North Queensland gold mine's tailings treatment project, addressing plant expansion and increased pumping distances to new tailings storage facilities.

Ensuring you have the right pump for the right application involves a thorough set of considerations. Consult a knowledgeable pump supplier like Kelair Pumps to discuss your pumping requirements.

For more information, visit kelairpumps.com.au

OFFTAKE AGREEMENT FOR LITHIUM PROJECT

Liontown Resources locked in a buyer for ramp-up spodumene concentrate volumes from its Kathleen Valley Lithium Project.

The short-term binding offtake agreement with Beijing Sinomine International Trade Co (BSIT) is for the supply of up to 100,000 dry metric tonnes (DMT) over a ten-month period to commence by 30 September 2024.

Pricing is determined using a formula-based mechanism referencing market prices for batterygrade lithium carbonate.

BSIT is a well-known company operating in the lithium chemicals industry and is active in both hard rock lithium mining and refining of spodumene concentrates into battery-grade lithium chemicals.

The offtake agreement with BSIT is in addition to existing long-term offtake contracts with Tesla, LG Energy Solution and Ford, which will be progressively brought into effect over the next 12 months as Liontown ramps-up the Kathleen Valley to full-production.

Anglo Pacific Holdings acted as the adviser to the buyer.

Liontown’s Managing Director and CEO, Tony Ottaviano, said, “Securing a near-term offtake with an established lithium refiner to sell initial volumes over the ramp-up period, de-risks sales during our ramp-up of the plant towards nameplate capacity.

“This complements our existing long-term offtakes, which we will progressively bring into effect over the next 12 months as we increase production towards nameplate to support our offtake commitments.”

QUEENSLAND MINING AWARDS WINNERS

The 2024 Queensland Mining Awards winners were celebrated at a black-tie gala held in Mackay as part of the Queensland Mining and Engineering Exhibition.

Presented by the Bowen Basin Mining Club alongside the Queensland Resources Council, the 2024 awards recognised Queensland’s best and brightest resources contractors, suppliers and producers, with peer-judged awards presented over eight categories addressing safety, collaboration, environment and innovation, with a mammoth 70 entries this year.

Award winners across the various categories included StrataLock, Corehesion, MacKellar Group, Coronado Global Resources, Bigmate, Pembroke Resources, and BMA and Astute.

Queensland Resources Council CEO, Janette Hewson, said it was fantastic to see what’s often a behindthe-scenes effort brought into the innovation spotlight.

“It’s our industry’s commitment to world’s best practice that has earned the Queensland resources sector an international reputation for excellence.

“Much of that innovation is driven right here in Mackay, home to Queensland’s internationally renowned METS  industry.”

Image: Prime Creative Media.

The black-tie gala of the 2024 Queensland Mining Awards.

Operations equipment at a lithium refinery.

Image: Jason Benz Bennee/shutterstock.com

PROGRESS FOR VECCO CRITICAL

MINERAL PROJECTS

A$798 million proposed project involving the development of a greenfield open-cut mine and processing plant to extract vanadium, high purity alumina and molybdenum has received coordinated project status.

The ‘coordinated project’ declaration from Queensland’s CoordinatorGeneral for the Vecco Critical Minerals Project paves the way for multiple environmental approvals.

The $798 million proposed project would see an open-cut mine built around 70km north of Julia Creek, along with a critical minerals processing plant. The plant would supply minerals for use in the local manufacture in Townsville of rechargeable batteries for grid scale energy.

The project is predicted to create up to 300 jobs over the construction period and up to 274 jobs during the mine’s operational phase. Pending approvals, construction on the project is anticipated to start in 2025, with the operational phase expected to begin in late 2026.

The declaration allows the CoordinatorGeneral to facilitate environmental approvals from the Queensland and Federal Governments.

Queensland Minister for State Development and Infrastructure, Grace Grace, said Queensland’s status as a

world leader in renewable energy is built on its abundant natural resources and skilled workforce.

“We can further enhance this status through an exciting proposal with the potential to further expand the North West’s critical minerals industry and generate local manufacturing jobs.

“With demand for battery storage set to increase tenfold by 2030, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Queensland to become a driving force in the development, manufacture, and deployment of new energy storage technologies.”

Queensland Coordinator-General, Gerard Coggan, said, “It is important we facilitate and responsibly progress projects that help transition Queensland’s economy and provide pathways to realise the potential for new industry and new jobs creation as we move towards the state’s low emissions targets.

“The community and stakeholders should have a say in evaluating the economic, social and environmental effects. The coordinated project declaration allows this to happen in a consistent, considered and sequenced way.”

Mr Coggan said that in his role as Coordinator-General, he would oversee the project evaluation by all government

agencies, considering community issues and possible impacts.

“The declaration fosters a whole-ofgovernment approach to developing critical mineral projects and to support positive outcomes for North West Queensland communities.”

Mr Coggan said critical minerals are referred to as ‘critical’ because they are of high economic importance to the transition to renewable energy.

“The critical minerals proposed for mining in this area would be used for batteries that will provide grid energy storage, and other electronic devices.”

Vecco Group Managing Director, Thomas Northcott, said that demand for vanadium flow batteries is rapidly increasing to meet the world’s energy storage demands.

“Australia’s demand for medium and deep duration storage by 2045 has been estimated at over 100GWh by the market operator, and vanadium flow batteries made right here in Townsville from Queensland’s minerals can help meet this need while creating good jobs in regional areas.

“We will be able to integrate mining and manufacturing and apply our expertise in critical minerals into the downstream supply chain to assist Queensland to achieve its renewable energy target.”

MIXING WITH

THE INDUSTRY’S BEST

When Evolution Mining needed an underground support vehicle for its Ernest Henry copper-gold mine, it turned to a leading equipment and vehicle manufacturer to deliver the solution.

In January 2024, Elphinstone introduced the new low-profile E15 series to the market, a welcome addition to the existing range of E10 underground support vehicles.

The E15 series features a ‘built for purpose’ range comprising

MOVEMENT IN

THE INDUSTRY

Your industry personnel roundup – we cover who’s moved where, which boardrooms have been shaken up and the new leaders making big decisions in organisations across the industry.

In June, Alcoa Corporation announced the appointment of a new Vice President Operations – Australia and President of Alcoa Australia, with a projected start date in October. Elsabe Muller was selected for the position, to be responsible for the company’s bauxite mining and rehabilitation, alumina refining and aluminium smelting activities in Western Australia and Victoria.

Also in June, Core Lithium announced the appointment of James Virgo to the role of CFO. Mr Virgo has been with Core since 2023 and served as Interim CFO from March before officially stepping into the role.

June also saw the resignation of Non-Executive Director, Stef Loader, from gold producer St Barbara. Ms Loader held the role from November 2018 to 30 June 2024, having served on both the Audit and Risk Committee and the Safety and Sustainability Committee.

In July, Evolution Mining welcomed Fiona Hick as a Non-Executive Director

and member of the Sustainability Committee. Bringing 29 years of experience in the minerals and energy industries, Ms Hick previously held senior roles at mining companies such as Rio Tinto, Woodside Energy and Fortescue. Global Lithium Resources announced the resignation of a Non-Executive Chairman as well as the appointment of the role’s successor in July. Geoff Jones’ resignation was effective immediately, with the Board appointing previous Managing Director, Ron Mitchell, to the role.

In July, Rio Tinto announced that Katie Jackson would lead the company’s copper business, moving into the role concurrently with Bold Baatar’s move into the Chief Commercial Officer position. Before assuming the Chief Executive Copper role, Ms Jackson served as Rio Tinto’s President of National Grid Ventures, taking responsibility for the development and operation of largescale energy infrastructure assets.

Fortescue announced a leadership shake-up in July, with the management and organisational updates designed to keep the company structure “lean, impactful and agile”.

As part of the changes, acting CFO, Apple Paget, moved into the role of Group Chief Financial Officer. At the same time, Chief Corporate Officer, Shelley Robertson, became Chief Operating Officer. Assistant Company Secretary, Navdeep (Mona) Gill replaced Phil McKeiver as Company Secretary, with Mr McKeiver remaining as the company’s Chief General Counsel.

Finally, in August, Pilbara Minerals Chief Operating Officer, Vince De Carolis, stepped down from the role with immediate effect. At the same time, the company also announced the promotion of General Manager of Operations, Brett McFadgen, to Executive General Manager of Operations.

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ENABLING FIFO WORKERS TO CONNECT

The unique characteristics of gruelling fly-in, fly-out mining rosters – including long shifts and short windows of rest – are well understood, but access to premium entertainment can go a long way in easing the FIFO lifestyle strain.

There’s nothing quite like sitting down and watching your favourite show after a long day of work, and this satisfaction is amplified in FIFO workers. Having highquality entertainment options waiting for them in their rooms after a tiring shift can go a long way in helping workers relax and unwind after an exhausting day of work.

Recent years have seen increased attention directed at the facilities that mining organisations are offering their FIFO workforce. Where it may once have been sufficient to offer basic facilities and amenities, a concerted effort to boost the mental health of FIFO workers is seeing an increase in FIFO offerings that include wellness centres, pools, increased dining options and even entertainment facilities.

A mining company that partners with premium entertainment providers like Foxtel can demonstrate its dedication to caring for the mental health and well-being of its workers, in addition to bringing top-quality entertainment to its workforce.

With its quick and easy installation and lifetime warranty, Foxtel takes the backache out of FIFO entertainment, going so far as to deliver the entertainment right to workers’ rooms.

Something for everyone

An entertained workforce is a happy workforce and Foxtel can offer FIFO workers access to the premium sports they love, including AFL, NRL, UFC and cricket. On top of this, Foxtel’s exclusive range of blockbuster movies, world-class drama TV series and 24/7 news means there is something for everyone and no worker needs to unwind from a hard day without something to watch.

The FIFO lifestyle often means spending long stretches of time away from family and friends, which can leave workers feeling disconnected and can breed feelings of loneliness and isolation.

Having all their favourite shows, movies and sports at their fingertips provides a welcome distraction and can lessen the disconnect workers feel by bringing a small piece of home to their rooms onsite.

Tackling feelings of isolation

As well as bringing comfort to workers in the peace of their own rooms, Foxtel gives mining organisations the opportunity to create a fun social atmosphere by showing sport in common areas, or the ‘wet mess’.

This added benefit encourages socialising with fellow workers, boosting camaraderie and relationship building as they sit and enjoy their favourite sports with their fellow workers. Mining companies can show major sporting events in the wet mess, including UFC, which is exclusive to Foxtel in Australia.

In addition to its wide range of sport, Foxtel is easy to access and offers non-interrupted content via satellite, meaning workers don’t have to miss out on watching the biggest sporting events. Although FIFO is a necessary part of the Australian mining industry, workers are increasingly in search of mining companies providing an elevated FIFO lifestyle for its workforce. Offering top quality perks – like Foxtel – to workers will help mining organisations ensure they are attracting top-quality talent.

Protecting assets in the cyber age

In the past, protecting assets meant safeguarding tangible facilities and equipment, but in the age of data, IoT and AI, keeping digital assets safe has become just as vital.

In recent months, the mining industry has seen several malicious cyber-attacks against operations, highlighting a potential lack of industrial cybersecurity in Australia.

Two notable attacks in 2024 were made against Sibanye-Stillwater and Evolution Mining.

On 11 July, Sibanye-Stillwater announced that a cyber-attack had affected its IT systems around the globe, and that it had initiated containment measures in line with its incident response plan to isolate its systems and safeguard critical data as soon as it became aware of the incident.

Evolution Mining revealed that it had come under attack on 8 August, also by ransomware that impacted its IT systems. The company said that it worked proactively with external cyber forensic experts to contain the incident, with a focus on protecting the safety and privacy of its people, systems and data.

While in both cases the companies’ quick responses ensured minimal disruptions to systems and reduced the loss of private data, these attack attempts highlight a trend in cybersecurity risks in the industry that is likely to continue.

The critical nature and large scale of mining operations makes them particularly vulnerable, with potential cyber-security incidents posing significant threats to operational productivity, safety, employee privacy and future planning.

Industry operations increasingly rely on digital systems which are used to optimise productivity and minimise health and safety risks. As distributed control systems become more critical

to the operation of mines, so does the need to protect these systems from interference.

A vital industry at risk

The mining industry has become a lucrative target for cyber-attacks. With such large operations – sometimes spread across multiple countries – the amount of data being shared to the cloud leaves operations vulnerable to malicious attacks.

Mining companies play a pivotal role in the economies of many nations, including Australia. By exploiting this vital industry, cyber criminals can enact major disruption across global supply chains and exfiltrate masses of data for future financial gain and competitive advantage. Cyber-attacks can take a wide variety of forms. Some of the most concerning types of attacks for the mining industry include:

Cyber espionage

Mining companies are continuously generating valuable data. This data can be stolen for financial gain, to give a competitor an industrial advantage, or to hijack sales and mergers. As such, cyber-attackers may execute spyware and other techniques in a cyber espionage campaign to gather that information.

Supply chain risks

Attackers can leverage attacks on other parties in a supply chain to gain a backdoor into a mine operator’s corporate network. Third-parties, such as contractors, with poor security behaviours can be a significant threat, even to

companies that are well prepared for a direct attack. For example, a connected contractor may allow a virus to migrate into the mine environment and shut down operational control systems.

Phishing

This is the leading source of malicious attacks across all industries. Phishing typically comes in the form of emails that contain malware disguised as innocuous links or attachments. The goal of such an email is to acquire the credentials of a system’s user, thereby getting a foothold into the corporate network and subsequently, operations.

Protecting digital assets

A holistic approach to asset protection requires companies to extend their defences to include company data and cyber assets. Building robust, proactive security systems, as well as providing quality cybersecurity awareness training for all staff, is a key step on this journey.

Investing in active defence systems that continuously scan for threats can ensure that potential attacks are detected immediately and can be acted upon. Regular penetration testing is also a useful practice. Professional ethical hackers can be employed to attempt to break through a security system, revealing weaknesses and allowing companies to shore up their defences.

Finally, having a thorough incident response plan can allow security personnel to isolate malicious attacks when they do occur, minimising an attacker’s access and keeping data, operations and staff safe.

DELIVERING

PUMPING EXCELLENCE

Pumps play a role in industries around the world, including mining, with end-users choosing to purchase solutions from experts who are committed to customer satisfaction.

There’s a famous saying – ‘a jack of all trades is a master of none’ – and this can be applied to companies who stretch themselves thin by trying to supply a large quantity of products across industries.

With such a broad range of equipment alongside their pumping solutions, trying to supply and service all these products and applications can see companies lose industry-specific, in-depth product knowledge that pump end-users want from experts, leading to increased customer dissatisfaction.

A focus on satisfaction

Sacrificing expertise is not a concern for ROTO Pumps, whose focus on pumps has enabled it to hone its industry knowledge and establish itself as a pumping expert that prioritises customer satisfaction.

With its laser focus on pumps, ROTO Pumps’ world-class research and development has not only enabled it to develop customised, state-of-the-art pumping solutions, but has also helped it cement itself as a front runner in the market.

Even with its R&D team boosting product reliability and efficiency and reducing the lifecycle cost of its products, ROTO pumps is so committed to customer satisfaction that it services exchange pumps at its Dandenong head office, taking worn or damaged pumps from customers and completely rebuilding them like new.

With its extensive knowledge of pumps, ROTO Pumps understands industry needs and is committed to delivering high-quality pumping solutions to the global market.

Building international reach

Established in 1968, ROTO Pumps is the pioneer manufacturer of progressive cavity pumps in India, with more than 50 years’ experience providing high-quality, efficient and reliable pumping solutions to a wide variety of industries.

Most major pump manufacturers around the world own or have partnerships with manufacturing plants in both India and China, and ROTO Pumps prides itself on its authenticity and its ability to consistently and reliably provide top-quality products to the global market.

ROTO Pumps has exported its pumping solutions to more than 50 countries around the world, demonstrating its dependability as a manufacturer and supplier of highquality equipment.

ROTO Pumps has been supplying directly into Australia since 2001 – its first warehouse outside of India. With its head office in Dandenong and satellite sales managers in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, ROTO Pumps’ reach is steadily growing as end-users recognise its high-quality products and expertise.

Pumping equipment must be especially robust to withstand the harsh conditions of mining applications. Responding to the needs of Australia’s critical mining industry ROTO Pumps offers a range of solutions to be used in a variety of applications, including mineral processing, slurry transfer, dewatering, water spray for dust suppression and other general applications.

For more information, visit rotopumps.com.au

Image:

ROTO Pumps

E mpowering your mine operations with Roto’s high pressure flexible shaft series pumps. Unleash the solution that challenges excess wate r, ensuring safe and efficient operations ; the Underground Maintena n ce Engineers’ Choice for ground water control.

Features:

•Robust construction for prolonged life and reliable performance

• Adaptable for challenging underground environments, available in fixed station configurations for single lift or staging along with portable packaged solutions

• Forge a direct connection with the manufacturer, ensuring personalised support,

Partnering with trusted suppliers

To ensure they are getting products and services that match their needs, mining organisations want to partner with suppliers that have in-depth industry knowledge and proven experience.

Along history of servicing an industry displays a high level of industry knowledge, as well as an in-depth understanding of the unique requirements of the sector.

Celebrating its 40th year servicing the mining industry in 2024, Black Duck started out as a manufacturer of roll tarps and motor trimming in the agricultural sector.

Black Duck’s CEO, Phil Grace, explained that the company was based in a small farming town at the beginning, and relied on farmers for its work.

“With the seasonal nature of farming, we found it very tough, as during the busy seasons we were overloaded with work but then would have almost nothing for the next few months,” Mr Grace said.

“I had been trying to work out how to get consistent work year-round when a local farmer came in and enquired whether we would make him a removable canvas cover to go over the seats on his brand new LandCruiser.”

Mr Grace said that his initial instinct was to refuse due to the costly nature of creating seat covers from scratch, but he had a “light-bulb moment” later that evening.

“That night I was thinking about it – why not get a range of reusable patterns for the most common farm vehicles and make them in batches?”

Black Duck’s break into the mining industry was achieved by introducing its seat cover products to the dealers and motor body builders who were supplying and fitting out fleets for the mining industry.

Despite facing many challenges as a small business entering a large industry, Black Duck’s products proved to be capable of withstanding the conditions of the mining sector and secured its place as a valued supplier in the industry.

A trusted partner

Now, Black Duck has been a part of the mining industry for decades, growing, changing and adapting alongside the sector.

Mr Grace said that in his years supplying the industry, the biggest change he’s witnessed is the introduction of seat mounted side airbags.

“It created major problems for us, as initially the vehicle manufacturers said that users were not allowed to put a removable seat cover on the seats.

“We overcame this problem and after much research and testing we had a final, safety-approved product.”

While delivering top-quality products that suit the industry’s needs has gotten increasingly complicated, Black Duck’s commitment to excellence and integrity has cemented its place as a respected manufacturer and supplier.

A prosperous future

Mr Grace said that Australia has benefited immensely from the resources sector, and that he is grateful to be a part of such an important industry.

He also said that Black Duck is eager to offer its customers new products in addition to its quality seat covers.

“We have a few other niche vehicle protection products and we have also been working on expanding the range. Once we have done the required testing, we will release these to the market.”

Mr Grace said that he is excited to see what the future holds for Black Duck, for the mining industry and for Australia.

In 2024, Black Duck celebrates its 40th year servicing the mining industry.

Images: Black Duck

Black Duck is eager to offer its customers new products in addition to its quality seat covers.

Since Black Duck® started in 1984, we understand how much the Australian Mining Industry has changed over the years. This is why Black Duck® has been pioneering product development to ensure our seat covers offer your vehicle the heavy-duty protection it needs while complying with all health and safety requirements.

Working in mines means a lot of dust and dirt gets in your vehicles. Our materials, Can vas and 4Elements®, are tightly woven to stop any dust, sand or dirt from ever touching your original seats, safeguarding your mining fleet vehicles' value and helping you avoid unnecessary charges or loss of value due to wear and tear. Our seat covers are the perfect fit for the mining and civil environments.

Surveying’s

secret weapon

From labour costs to the specialised, large-scale equipment required, operations in the mining industry are some of the most capital-intensive in the world. Realising savings wherever possible is crucial.

Surveying is integral to every stage of a mining operation and, as such, it can take up a large portion of a project’s time and budget allocations. Selecting a surveyor that utilises the most efficient equipment and possesses in-depth industry expertise can make all the difference.

Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology uses remote sensing to measure distances to the earth. It has significant benefits for surveying in the mining industry as it ensures accuracy, saves time and boosts productivity.

Time is money

LiDAR technology streamlines the surveying process, reducing the time required for data collection and analysis.

After extensive market research on selecting the right tool for the job, West Coast Surveying selected a scanner that can accurately deliver 5mm repeatability, even in complex environments involving dense foliage and tree canopies.

Capable of scanning at 500,000 points per second with scanning speeds of 250 scans per second, the technology significantly enhances the detail in aerial mapping.

Each pixel is coloured to match the point measured and point clouds are colourised with an intergraded 45MP orthographic internal camera. This makes the data more visually pleasing and a welcome change from previous greyscale images.

Director, Malcolm Clinton, said that LiDAR captures surfaces seamlessly when compared to other methods, reducing time in the field and providing results that can easily be repeated.

Without the extensive time barriers of fieldwork and data processing, LiDAR provides easy-to-generate reports with processing times of under an hour, much less than traditional methods.

Surveying that utilises LiDAR technology plays an important role in reducing a mining operation’s overall costs.

The accurate and high-quality data collected by LiDAR offers critical insight for mining applications involving tailings dams, bulk earthworks and road construction.

LiDAR is significantly more reliable than photogrammetry, particularly when it comes to calculating volumes moved. With its laser technology, LiDAR provides precise volume measurements, which prevents costly payment errors for material miscalculation.

No two mining projects are the same and West Coast Surveying understands the unique priorities and goals different clients have. The company offers a distinct approach, with each project perfectly tailored to the needs of the client.

The experienced team of professionals use advanced technology and techniques, including LiDAR, to ensure customers’ expectations are not only met, but exceeded.

Since its establishment in 2021, the company has continued to offer its clients the latest in surveying technology.

“West Coast Surveying is the industry leader in utilising this technology; we have invested time and resources and believe that we can embrace tomorrow’s future today,” Mr Clinton said.

West Coast Surveying offers start to finish support – delivering time and cost savings from tendering stages, through to project construction.

Image: West Coast Surveying

A stripped surface image produced by LiDAR technology.

LiDAR technology significantly streamlines the surveying process.

Image: Jackson Heeley for West Coast Surveying

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THE STORAGE POTENTIAL OF MINING PITS

By Timothy Weber and Professor Andrew Blakers, Australian National University

The world is rapidly moving towards a highly electrified, renewable energy future and the mining industry has a key role to play in the transition.

When it comes to generating electricity, solar photovoltaic and wind have effectively won the energy race. Solar and wind inherently need energy storage systems that can be charged when there is a surplus of electricity supply and discharged to fill the gaps when the sun is not shining and the wind is not blowing.

Mine sites offer an opportunity at their end-of-life to be repurposed into low-cost pumped hydro energy storage systems, providing reliable firm power for the electricity grids of the future.

Recognising this, a team of researchers from the Australian National University (ANU) created a series of atlases that highlights former mining sites that have the potential to host pumped hydro storage.

The fastest energy change in history

Around the world, solar and wind made up approximately 84 per cent of new generation capacity added to electricity grids in 2023. Annual solar installations are doubling every three years, and solar and wind are now the cheapest form of new electricity.

Any other low-carbon technology, including nuclear and carbon capture and storage, would require extraordinary growth rates to become competitive with solar and wind to meet decarbonisation targets.

Figure 1 utilises IRENA, IEA, World Nuclear Association and Global Energy Monitor data to display annual installations of electricity generation technologies globally.

In the Australian National Electricity Market, about 40 per cent of electricity is currently generated from renewable sources. The Federal Government has set a target of 82 per cent renewables by 2030 and established the Capacity Investment Scheme to secure 32GW of renewable capacity to meet this target. Almost all of this renewable generation will come from solar and wind, as this is almost all that is being built at the moment.

According to the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), electrification of transport, heating, cooling and industry could double electricity demand, and a large hydrogen industry could double it again. Australia is in the middle of the fastest energy change in history.

Off-river pumped hydro energy storage

Rapidly rising electricity demand coupled with the low cost of solar and wind generation means that most of Australia’s electricity supply will be variable. This means that when the sun does not shine or the wind does not blow, many of these generators will not be able to produce new electricity. It is essential to integrate energy storage systems into the grid to fill the gaps in electricity supply.

According to various analyses from ANU, AEMO, and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Australia may require between 480–1050GWh of energy storage by 2050. The actual amount will depend on the level of grid

Figure 1: Annual installations of electricity generation technologies around the world.

interconnection and the size of Australia’s hydrogen production economy.

Pumped hydro energy storage is currently the cheapest form of overnight storage. It is a mature technology that constitutes about 95 per cent of all existing electrical energy storage around the world. These pumped hydro systems are complementary with batteries, which excel at short-duration storage on the scale of seconds-to-hours. A future electricity grid would benefit from hybrid storage configurations, where pumped hydro can trickle-charge high-power batteries, allowing them to meet peak demand at a low cost during the day.

Most possible pumped hydro sites are located off-river. They are formed using a pair of reservoirs with a large elevation difference (called the ’head’) connected by a high-pressure tunnel. When there is excess generation in the grid, water can be pumped from the lower to the upper reservoir. Later, the water stored in the upper reservoir can be released through a turbine to fill the gaps in electricity supply. Since these systems are off-river, they form a closed loop that recycles the water up and down for up to 100 years. Off-river pumped hydro systems do not involve any new dams on rivers. This unlocks an enormous number of options for sites far away from rivers with very large head and small dam walls. Doubling the head, in turn, doubles the energy storage, dramatically reducing the cost per unit of energy storage. Off-river sites generally have a low environmental footprint compared to on-river systems.

Due to the lack of cooling towers and fuel processing, a 100 per cent renewable energy system mostly consisting of solar, wind and pumped hydro also requires far less water than a comparable fossil fuel-based energy system.

The 100% Renewable Energy Group at ANU has been developing Global Pumped Hydro Energy Storage Atlases that locate possible sites for off-river systems outside large urban areas. These atlases account for over one million unique options around the world. The recently developed Brownfield Atlas focuses on mining pits, pit lakes and tailings pods that have the potential to be paired with a nearby upper reservoir, forming a cheap and convenient pumped hydro system.

Converting mine sites

Mine sites have the benefit of existing infrastructure that can be repurposed for a ‘brownfield’ pumped hydro energy storage system; one of the reservoirs has already been cleared and dug through the original mining operations. Mines also require electricity transmission, major road access, nearby accommodation for developers and operators and water sources and licences for their operation, all of which can be rolled into the development and operation of a pumped hydro system.

Building new transmission is one of the main bottlenecks for Australia’s renewable energy transition due to the need to negotiate with large numbers of private landholders. Therefore, existing

onsite transmission infrastructure can greatly streamline the development of brownfield pumped hydro compared to other types of reservoirs.

Just having a large mining pit, however, is not enough for a pumped hydro system.

A nearby location with a higher elevation must also be found for the upper reservoir. The ANU group used a global dataset of terrain elevation to model reservoirs and pair them with nearby mining pits. The sites with large head, large reservoir volumes relative to the dam wall size (water-to-rock ratio) and small separation distances are all recorded in the Brownfield Atlas. Each site is assigned a ‘cost class’ from AAA to E, with a class E site costing roughly six times more than a class AAA site.

Although mining sites have a lot of great features that help to simplify the development of a pumped hydro system, they are not without their own unique challenges. One such challenge is that mining pits are often in possession of steep conical sides. Additionally, rapidly changing the water level can strain the walls of the mining pit and put pressure on the turbines, limiting the water volume that can be practically used for energy storage. Contaminants within the mining site, such as sulphides, could corrode pumped hydro components or contaminate freshwater ecosystems if they seep into the environment. These technical challenges may require designs that incorporate reinforcement

A potential off-river pumped hydro site that repurposes the Cadia Hill Gold Mine as a lower reservoir.

Image: ANU, original map sourced from Google Basemap.

84 per cent of Australian brownfield pumped hydro options (red) are within 10km of existing transmission lines.

of unstable slopes and reservoir linings to prevent water seepage.

There is also the risk of the land surrounding active mining sites containing additional mineral reserves, making mineral rights an essential consideration for the impact of future mining on the pumped hydro system. Mining pits are also typically smaller and more geographically constrained compared to new greenfield pumped hydro systems where both reservoirs are built on undeveloped land. This smaller size makes them ideal for providing overnight storage of solar generation but limits their ability to provide seasonal storage during the winter.

Some combination of pumped hydro systems consisting of brownfield, greenfield and sites that repurpose existing lakes and reservoirs (bluefield) will be necessary to support a transition to 100 per cent renewable generation.

The pumped hydro boom

The last pumped hydro system completed in Australia was Wivenhoe Power Station in 1984. Recently, the development pipeline has exploded with new pumped hydro projects as solar and wind generators have rapidly connected to the grid.

In Australia, there are at least 23 pumped hydro projects with 21,000MW/ 660GWh of storage at various stages of investigation and development that have been publicly announced. Snowy 2.0 makes up almost half of this prospective energy storage, with completion expected by 2028.

One of the earliest examples of a brownfield pumped hydro system is Dinorwig Power Station, completed in 1984 in northern Wales, repurposing an old slate quarry. In Queensland, the Kidston Pumped Storage Hydro Project (250MW/ 2GWh), which repurposes two adjacent mining pits, is due to be completed at the end of 2024. Muswellbrook Pumped Hydro (500MW/ 4GWh) and Mt Rawdon Pumped Hydro (2000MW/ 20GWh) are other brownfield sites that are also undergoing feasibility studies.

Pumped hydro of the future

The Brownfield Atlas produced by ANU located 904 mining sites in 77 countries which could be repurposed as pumped hydro systems at their end-of-life. Of these sites, 37 were in Australia with a total energy storage potential of about 540GWh.

It is unlikely, however, that all 23 pumped hydro projects in Australia’s pipeline will be determined to be feasible. Thankfully, the potential sites on the Global Pumped Hydro Energy Storage Atlases, including the Brownfield Atlas, provide 100 times more energy storage than what would be required for Australia to support a 100 per cent renewable energy system. This means that developers can afford to be picky – if one site is deemed infeasible, then there are thousands of other good-quality options available to choose from.

Renewable generation and energy storage are a solved problem. Off-theshelf technologies such as solar, wind, pumped hydro and batteries are the backbone of the energy transition. There is no need to wait for dramatic improvements in technology; this means Australia can just focus on getting the job done.

For more information, visit re100.eng. anu.edu.au or scan the QR code.

Image: ANU, using transmission information from Geoscience Australia, original map sourced from Google Basemap.

Valves boosting sustainability

As Australia continues its path to net zero, there are increasing calls for the mining industry to utilise equipment that reduces its environmental footprint.

Mining plays a key role in the clean energy transition, with a variety of critical minerals vital to renewable technologies such as solar panels, batteries and magnets.

Though the output is imperative to Australia’s renewable future, implementing sustainable practices can minimise the environmental impact of mining operations on a day-to-day basis.

Equipment powering industry

Although finding ways to electrify and decarbonise the large machinery associated with the sector can make an impact on reducing emissions, an oftenoverlooked area is the smaller equipment that powers the industry.

Valves are essential components in a mining operation and can contribute to its overall sustainability.

Many valves in the mining industry rely on pneumatic actuation, in which compressed air is used to enact a mechanical motion. The production of compressed air is an energy-intensive process and, as such, these types of valves have high overall energy consumption.

Pneumatic actuator valves require a stable and continuous supply of air or gas, meaning their performance can be affected by fluctuations in air supply. Leaking can further exacerbate energy

consumption and lead to environmental hazards. Additionally, pneumatic actuator valves require more maintenance and have shorter lifespans than other types of actuators, resulting in negative environmental outcomes.

Whilst pneumatic actuated valves are the norm in the industry, utilising alternatives can boost a mining operation’s sustainability.

Sustainable valve solutions

Bürkert’s fluid control systems provide unparalleled valve solutions that are customisable to fit every mining application. With high flexibility thanks to modular designs, a diverse choice of materials, longevity, high-reliability and low environmental impact, Bürkert valves stand the test of time.

When it comes to sustainable alternatives for pneumatic actuated valves in the mining industry, electromotive and solenoid valves are often a better replacement, with applications ranging from dosing to dust suppression.

Electromotive valves offer accuracy, ease of control and, importantly, low energy consumption. Bürkert range of electromotive valves include angle seat, diaphragm, globe, ball, butterfly and disc types, all of which come in multiple configurations to suit the needs of the operation.

Solenoid valves are electromechanically operated and allow fluids or gases to be shut off, released, dosed, distributed or mixed. Valves with kick and drop technology have coils with double winding that is initially excited by a high electric current before switching to an energy-saving holding power consumption. Bürkert’s solenoid valves with kick and drop coil technology are not only durable and silent, but they allow for energy savings of up to 80 per cent.

In addition to optimising onsite efficiency, Bürkert’s range of electromotive and solenoid valves offer an opportunity for mining operations to minimise their environmental footprint from the inside out.

Sustainably minded

Bürkert’s valves enable more efficient resource extraction, reducing energy consumption and waste generation. The company prioritises eco-friendly practices and adheres to stringent quality standards from design and manufacturing to installation and maintenance.

Bürkert’s range of solenoid and kick and drop valves will be on display at Booth 13 in the German Pavilion at the International Mining and Resources Conference.

To learn more, visit burkert.com.au

A depiction

Image: Bürkert

Discover Burkert Expertise

Enhance your operations with sustainable solutions

Meet us at the show 29-31 OCT 2024

German Pavilion

Booth 13

We make ideas flow.

We make ideas flow.

A strategic partnership

Solutions in the mining industry must serve the dual purpose of being advanced enough to withstand the harsh conditions of mine sites, while also supporting sustainable mining practices.

With so much change occurring across Australian industries, including mining, it’s important for the suppliers and manufacturers that provide solutions to these sectors to also adapt and grow to better serve the industry.

complete Hayward Gordon range of products locally.

for feed, these mixers enhance the efficiency of the flotation process, leading to higher recovery rates and improved performance.

Advanced solutions for mining

Hayward Gordon mixers are designed to handle the most challenging and demanding conditions in the mining and mineral processing industry.

Custom solutions

To achieve this goal, EBARA CORPORATION acquired Hayward Gordon ULC in October 2022. The integration allowed EBARA to expand its product range and manufacturing capabilities, as well as enhancing its global sales and financial stability.

Two powerhouses

Founded in Japan in 1912, EBARA began as a pump manufacturer and was the first company to manufacture centrifugal pumps in Japan. Today, it boasts a global presence with over 100 companies across five continents and a workforce exceeding 19,000 people.

Hayward Gordon was established in Ontario, Canada in 1952, and was originally a regional supplier to the North and South American regions. Hayward Gordon has emerged as a global leader in heavyduty pumps and mixers, particularly within the minerals industry.

EBARA PUMPS AUSTRALIA has been serving the local market since 2000. The company’s pump success has prompted its expansion into Australia’s minerals industry. To facilitate this, EBARA PUMPS AUSTRALIA forged a closer partnership with Hayward Gordon in early 2024. As a result, it now offers the

Gold leach CIL mixers

Hayward Gordon’s gold leach CIL mixers are among the most efficient in the world, crucial for the gold leaching process. These mixers ensure uniform mixing of slurry, maximising contact between the ore and leaching solution, which enhances gold recovery rates. The highefficiency of these mixers significantly improves the extraction process, making them a vital component in gold mining operations.

Storage tank mixers

The storage tank agitators from Hayward Gordon are crucial for maintaining slurry homogeneity, preventing sedimentation and ensuring a consistent feed to downstream processes. Built to handle high solids concentrations and abrasive solids, they provide reliable performance, ensuring process stability in mineral processing operations.

Conditioning tank mixers

Hayward Gordon’s conditioning mixers are essential to the flotation process, ensuring proper blending of additives and thorough mixing of the slurry before flotation. By creating the ideal conditions

Every mining operation is unique, and Hayward Gordon mixers can be customised to meet specific requirements. Whether it’s handling slurry with varying viscosities or operating in extreme conditions, these mixers are engineered to deliver optimal performance and durability. Customisation ensures that each solution is tailored to the specific needs of the operation, maximising efficiency and effectiveness.

Sustainable solutions for the future

The mixers offered are designed to be energy-efficient and environmentally friendly, aligning with the global push towards sustainable mining practices. This focus on sustainability ensures that solutions not only meet current regulatory requirements but also contribute to long-term environmental stewardship.

With an experienced local presence at EBARA PUMPS AUSTRALIA, customers can expect enhanced support and service. From timely maintenance to technical assistance, EBARA is dedicated to ensuring that clients receive the best possible service for their equipment, minimising downtime while maximising operational efficiency. The local support infrastructure means faster response times and more personalised service, ensuring all operations run smoothly.

The factory floor at Hayward Gordon.

Images: Hayward Gordon

EBARA PUMPS Business Development Manager, Graham Seal.

Boosting Pilbara

conservation

By Alex Gore, Senior Communications Officer, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions

Although output and production remain a key focus area for mining companies’ reporting, information on an organisation’s environmental, social and governance credentials are increasingly sought-after.

Australia is home to a broad, diverse range of terrain, with everything from snow-capped mountains to large deserts, and tropical forests to bushlands. These landscapes are home to an abundance of unique flora and fauna, and the protection and preservation of it is especially significant.

With the rapid growth of Australia’s industries pushing infrastructure out of urban locations and further into the remote areas of the country, these landscapes and their flora and fauna are increasingly being impacted.

Most of the work in the mining industry is conducted in rural locations, and often on previously untouched areas. Mining organisations that take action to reduce the impacts of their operations and look after the areas they mine on showcase a commitment to safeguarding the environment for future generations.

Pilbara in focus

The iron ore-rich Pilbara is one of the undisputed powerhouses of the Australian economy. Beyond the mines, the Pilbara has high species richness and many endemic plants and animals. Within its landscape are also vast spinifex-covered plains, rugged hills and spectacular gorges that host elusive wildlife, like northern quolls, and one of the richest reptile collections in the world.

Protecting the Pilbara’s unique biodiversity has been a priority for some time and these efforts were bolstered in June 2024 through a new strategic partnership between the Western Australian Government and Rio Tinto.

The Rio Tinto-funded Pilbara Conservation Project is a four-year, $8 million effort to further integrate Traditional Owner knowledge into the work of the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) at high-conservation value areas and tourism hotspots like Karijini National Park, which receives over 300,000 visitors annually, as well as Millstream Chichester National Park, and other sites across the region.

The funding will also help support DBCA’s delivery of bushfire management, weed management and feral animal control at Karijini National Park.

A win-win situation

Western Australia’s Minister for Energy; Environment; Climate Action, Reece

Whitby, described the partnership as a win for the environment.

“It’s also a win for the community, it’s a win for conservation, it’s a win for economic development and sustainability, with Traditional Owners being supported and ranger programs being engaged.

“Conservation is a shared responsibility, and this new partnership demonstrates how government, industry and Traditional Owners can work together to manage biodiversity values through practical, on-ground actions.”

Conservation outcomes

The mining industry is not entirely alone in its efforts, and in many sectors, industry is responding to the Western Australian Government’s commitment to a longterm integrated vision and strategy for a sustainable future.

Rio Tinto Iron Ore Managing Director of Port, Rail and Core Services, Richard Cohen, said the environment, the community and industry alike would benefit from voluntary naturepositive reforms such as the Pilbara Conservation Project.

“Maintaining Pilbara biodiversity is critical not only for our business today but also for future generations within the region and we recognise our responsibility to understand and effectively mitigate our impacts on nature through collaborative partnerships.

“Partnerships like the Pilbara Conservation Project are crucial to delivering nature-positive outcomes, with collaboration, resource sharing, innovation, local engagement and collective effort needed to address the complex challenges with environmental conservation and restoration.

“Most importantly, this project will enable DBCA and Traditional Owners to continue to care for Country, placing Traditional Owner knowledge at the heart of conservation management.”

The partnership also includes significant resources for research and monitoring projects to improve evidencebased land management, something that was highlighted at the project’s launch in Karratha by DBCA Director General, Stuart Smith.

“The Pilbara region has enormous biodiversity and conservation value. The great thing about this partnership is it brings together some of the key players to really protect that biodiversity and conservation,” Mr Smith said.

Images: DBCA

Millstream Chichester National Park.

“You’ve got DBCA working with Traditional Owners and Rio Tinto, all bringing their expertise to protect the environment. And that partnership is going to deliver great things for improving the biodiversity and conservation in the Pilbara.”

Project priorities

Full-time ranger positions within DBCA, as well as training and fee-for-service work for Aboriginal ranger groups, are central to the project’s design. Management planning for all fire, weed and feral herbivore management will be carried out alongside Traditional Owners including Nyamal, Yindjibarndi, Ngarluma, Yinhawangka, Nyiyaparli, Banjima and Eastern Guruma.

Fire management

Scientific studies supported by the project will focus on fire-sensitive Pilbara landscapes, including the development of a long-term fauna monitoring program to inform adaptive conservation management actions. Aboriginal ranger groups will contribute cultural fire knowledge and help co-design the fire program and monitoring in national parks.

An important component of the project will be the development of fine-scale vegetation maps produced through remote sensing and field surveys. These maps will inform the continued

creation of a prescribed fire mosaic within the landscape that will better protect biodiversity, cultural and infrastructure values and provide an invaluable tool to limit the size and impact of bushfires.

Weeds

The project’s focus on the effective management of priority weeds will aim to improve vegetation and habitat quality within the region’s national parks. Collaboration with a broad range of stakeholder groups will also be improved as part of the project and accessible information on weed control methods will be developed to ensure land managers can prioritise weed control to the most important species.

Weed mapping with Yindjibarndi rangers along sections of the Fortescue River within Millstream Chichester National Park has commenced. The initial focus is on mapping and controlling the invasive plant Parkinsonia and date palms.

At Karijini National Park control of the Agave cactus and date palms has commenced with strategic weed mapping being undertaken in important tourist destinations at Kalamina and Dales Gorge.

Large feral herbivores

Feral camels and donkeys are widespread through the Pilbara and can have significant negative impacts on the environment, including fouling water

courses, degrading native vegetation and competing with native wildlife for food, water and shelter.

The funding from Rio Tinto will increase collaboration and engagement on landscape scale programs for large feral herbivores and allow management to extend outside of national park boundaries in partnership with other key stakeholders in the Pilbara, including Recognised Biosecurity Groups, pastoralists and Aboriginal ranger groups.

Safeguarding the future

A key priority that is shared and echoed by the parties involved in the partnership is the importance of safeguarding areas like the Pilbara for years to come.

Yindjibarndi Senior Ranger, Simon Lockyer, acknowledged that there is a need to care for Country and safeguard culture and heritage.

“Culturally we need to protect it, sustain it and look after it for future generations. We need to follow our ancestors and their footprints; what they've left behind. We do cultural mapping, looking after heritage, prescribed burning, quoll trapping.

“Just being on Country, it gives you a different world and a feeling. It lifts your spirit. It really soothes your soul.”

At the conservation project’s launch in Karratha, Mr Cohen spoke about the company’s values and its commitment to the region.

The Pilbara Conservation Project launch, featuring Traditional Owners, Western Australian Environment Minister, Reece Whitby, DBCA Director General, Stuart Smith, and Rio Tinto’s Iron Ore Manager (Ports, Rail and Core Services) Richard Cohen.

“The Pilbara is such an important part of Australia – both in its Traditional Owner heritage and its amazing landscape, flora and fauna. It’s also very important for our business.

“We recognise we have got a really important part to play in ensuring that we maintain and minimise our impact on this lovely and beautiful environment.”

With more mines expected to be built and developed to stay abreast of global

demand for Australia’s minerals and commodities, more land is expected to be impacted by the industry across Australia. Conservation partnerships like the Pilbara Conservation Project are a way for the industry to demonstrate its commitment to minimising environmental impacts and take steps to preserve the country’s unique landscapes for future generations.

SCREENING MACHINES FOR THE MINING INDUSTRY WE PRODUCE OUR OWN EXCITERS

We produce Linear Motion Screens (HLS) and Circular Motion Screen (HKS) with a maximum length of 10,000mm and a maximum width of 4,000mm. We also deliver Banana Screens, Dewatering Screens and Hot Screens for material up to 1,000 °C.

With a working moment of up to 15,000kgcm, our drive system exciters are also compatible with other brands. We are searching for a professional partner in Australia for sales and service.

Call +49 (0) 6157 402 9982 or email info@hoppeschwingtechnik.de

To learn more about Hoppe Schwingtechnik GmbH and its products, please visit www.hoppeschwingtechnik.de

Yindjibarndi and Midwest rangers in Millstream Chichester National Park.

Mt Bruce, Karijini National Park.

A mining substation as part of APE’s refurbished and repurposed equipment range.

Sustainable power solutions

In an era where sustainability and reliability are paramount, customers are in search of power equipment solutions that combine innovation with dependability.

Established with a vision to provide robust power solutions while championing environmental stewardship, Australian Power Equipment (APE) has secured a place for itself as a provider of choice for a diverse clientele.

Founded and operated by Co-Directors, Abby Crawford and Andrew Cockbain, APE prides itself on its 100 per cent Australian ownership and dedication to serving businesses worldwide.

Specialising in a wide array of power solutions, the company represents renowned global brands such as Üntel, B&D, Leistung Energie, WE Walters, and CAB. These strategic partnerships ensure APE delivers high-quality power equipment tailored to meet the varied needs of its clientele.

APE not only offers brand-new products but also champions a circular economy through its extensive range of refurbished and like-new equipment. This approach supports environmental conservation by reducing waste and provides cost-effective solutions to clients with urgent equipment needs.

Ms Crawford said, “Our circular economy approach allows us to repurpose stranded assets quickly, saving both time and valuable resources that would otherwise be lost to landfill or scrap.”

Embracing the circular economy

The concept of a circular economy is central to APE’s business model.

By refurbishing and repurposing equipment from sites across Australia

and internationally, APE provides agile solutions to clients facing critical equipment shortages or failures. This capability is particularly crucial in industries like mining and renewables, where operational continuity hinges on the availability of reliable power equipment.

An example of APE’s circular economy practices is the acquisition of transformers from decommissioned coal mining operations, refurbished to meet the exacting standards required for renewable energy projects. This supports the transition to sustainable energy sources, as well as extending the lifespan of equipment that might otherwise be discarded prematurely.

Sustainable practices across operations

Beyond product offerings, APE integrates sustainability into its organisational ethos through a three-fold approach encompassing safety, environmental stewardship and community contribution.

Ms Crawford said, "Our commitment to sustainability is ingrained in everything we do – from complying with stringent environmental regulations to actively supporting local communities and wildlife conservation efforts."

The company’s operational agility is another key strength. With just two directors overseeing operations, APE leverages its extensive network of industry contacts and specialised service providers to deliver tailored solutions efficiently and transparently.

This approach not only ensures flexibility and responsiveness, but also underscores APE’s commitment to delivering excellence in every aspect of its service delivery.

Innovative solutions

APE’s ability to navigate industry challenges is exemplified by its critical sourcing services, renowned for swiftly resolving urgent equipment needs.

Mr Cockbain said, "Our critical sourcing capabilities are pivotal in keeping industries operational during crises such as equipment failures or supply chain disruptions."

By sourcing and delivering essential equipment with minimal lead time, APE mitigates downtime for clients, thereby supporting productivity and operational continuity.

Moreover, APE’s dedication to quality assurance is uncompromising: all sourced equipment undergoes rigorous testing and certification by thirdparty entities to ensure compliance with industry standards and client specifications. This commitment not only safeguards operational safety but also reinforces APE’s reputation as a trusted partner in the power equipment sector.

Through its dedication to excellence, sustainability and community stewardship, APE is not just shaping the future of power solutions – it’s powering a sustainable tomorrow.

For more information, visit australianpowerequipment.com.au

Image: Justin Aveling for APE

SUPPLIER OF PROVEN POWER EQUIPMENT

Australian Power Equipment is a leading provider of low, medium and high-voltage power equipment across the Power Generation, Infrastructure, Renewable Energy and Resources sectors.

As the agents for Üntel cables, B&D transformers, Leistung Energie switchgear, CAB cable systems and WE Walter substations, they can supply new equipment to specification.

With a strong commitment to sustainability, the company also provides repurposed and refurbished equipment including substations, transformers and switchrooms.

They can provide immediate solutions to unplanned outages with their in-stock equipment or their critical sourcing solutions.

Australian Power Equipment is dedicated to delivering exceptional customer service and electrical engineering support, ensuring businesses can make best-practice decisions for their operations.

Directors Andrew Cockbain and Abby Crawford

EXPLORING

UNCHARTED TERRITORY

By Ian Scrimgour, Senior Executive Director, Northern Territory Geological Survey

The Northern Territory is increasingly being recognised as one of the world’s most prospective destinations for critical minerals exploration and mining.

Western Australia is widely acknowledged as the powerhouse of Australia’s resources industry, but recent investment and analysis has uncovered the potential emergence of another frontrunner.

Recent months have seen an uptick in investment and project activity in the Northern Territory, helping the Territory establish a place for itself in Australia’s resources landscape.

In the Fraser Institute Annual Survey of Mining Companies, the Northern Territory has ranked in the top three jurisdictions globally for its mineral potential in the past two surveys, and is also sitting in the top ten globally for investment attractiveness. This recognition of the Territory’s exploration potential has been accompanied by a boom in exploration expenditure in the Territory, as well as a doubling of the land area under granted exploration licences since 2018.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ (ABS) figures show that in 2023, more than $228 million was spent on private sector mineral exploration in the Territory, equalling the record figure that was set in 2011. A record March 2024 quarter in

the Northern Territory has rolling annual expenditure now sitting above $230 million for the first time.

Analysing growth

The figures show growth in exploration is particularly driven by critical minerals, with exploration for other commodities as defined by the ABS – which includes all critical minerals except nickel, cobalt and mineral sands – hitting a record $106 million in 2023.

Critical minerals exploration was substantially higher in the Northern Territory than in any state except Western Australia, driven largely by booming lithium and rare earths exploration.

The resources sector is already a key contributor to the Northern Territory’s economy, especially through world-class mines such as McArthur River, Tanami, Gove and GEMCO. But it is demand for the critical minerals needed for the energy transition that is driving most of the current boom.

The Territory is already home to one of the world’s largest manganese mines, has a world class rare earths mining and separation project approaching development, and has Australia’s

only lithium resources outside of Western Australia.

Furthermore, thanks to recent exploration successes, the Territory now has Australia’s largest known resource of graphite and a rapidly expanding pipeline of critical minerals projects.

The Territory has defined resources of 17 critical minerals (minerals on the Australian Critical Minerals or Strategic Materials lists), with demonstrated geological potential for a further 12.

In the past year, graphite and gallium have been added to the Territory’s critical minerals list. This follows the announcement of Australia’s first gallium resource at the Transition Minerals’ Barkly rare earths vanadium project, and the discovery of Australia’s largest graphite resource at Kingsland Minerals’ Leliyn project near Pine Creek.

Graphite is a critical material for battery anodes, and given recent graphite export restrictions imposed by China, this expands the Territory’s potential to be a reliable supplier of materials to the global battery industry. Gallium is critical for LED screens and semi-conductors and is subject to recent Chinese export restrictions.

Importantly, the Territory’s known mineral endowment is only a fraction of what is likely to be found, as a significant part of the Territory’s land mass of around 1.4 million square kilometres has not been systematically explored.

Investing in the Territory

With its high geological prospectivity, the opportunity for further resource discoveries and development in the Territory is immense.

The Territory Government has been backing exploration through the $9.5 million per year Resourcing the Territory program, which funds new pre-competitive geoscience by the Northern Territory Geological Survey (NTGS) to attract and de-risk exploration investment and provides grants to co-fund exploration.

A recent outcome evaluation report by Deloitte1 has shown that the Resourcing the Territory initiative – first introduced by the Northern Territory Government in 2018 – has helped significantly boost investment in resources exploration in the Territory.

The report covered the first four years of the program and documented

multiple case studies that demonstrate that pre-competitive geoscience, legacy data capture and exploration grants led to substantial new investments in the Northern Territory, including investments from major mining companies through joint ventures and partnerships.

An example of the impact of these programs is collaborative work undertaken by Geoscience Australia and NTGS in the previously poorly-explored Barkly Tableland region east of Tennant Creek. This included a diverse range of pre-competitive geoscience programs and substantial upgrades of geophysical data to support exploration targeting in the area. This directly led to more than 100 new exploration licence applications by the industry since 2018, spanning more than 50,000km2, largely targeting copper-gold and sedimentary copper deposits.

A number of majors are now active in the areas, including South32, who have farm-in agreements worth $25 million with Encounter Resources’ tenements in the eastern Barkly Tableland.

Deloitte found that “investment into pre-competitive geoscience is one of the most significant things the Territory

Government can be doing to de-risk investment and increase the possibility of successful resource projects contributing to the Northern Territory economy” and that Resourcing the Territory has delivered on that aim.

The report comes as the recently released Fraser Institute Survey of Mining Companies2 showed the Territory ranking near the top both in Australia and globally for how its geological database encourages investment.

In July 2022, funding for the Resourcing the Territory program increased from $6.5 million to $9.5 million per year, and was made ongoing, signalling the Territory Government’s long-term support for the sector. The Northern Territory has now joined Western Australia as one of the only two jurisdictions in Australia to commit ongoing high levels of funding to support the exploration sector.

An important component of the Resourcing the Territory program is the Geophysics and Drilling Collaborations Grants Program, which is now funded to at least $3 million per year and provides co-funding for selected exploration programs, including greenfields and brownfields drilling, regional

A mine elevation model constructed by processing aerial footage captured by a drone.

Image:

The Territory has a rapidly expanding pipeline of critical minerals projects. Image: electra/shutterstock.com

geophysical surveys and innovative exploration targeting.

In June 2024, the Territory Government announced that a record 41 projects from 29 companies had been awarded a total of $4 million in grants as part of the 2024/25 of the grants program.

This year’s program includes a new ‘Advancing Critical Minerals’ category, which will see the Territory Government co-fund selected projects to re-analyse existing datasets for critical minerals, or to undertake early-stage test work on the metallurgical recovery of critical minerals.

The strength of exploration is underpinning an impressive pipeline of mining developments, with 18 mining projects in various stages of the development process.

Territory project pipeline snapshot

Combined, these projects represent a combined capital expenditure of $8.7 billion with the potential to create up to 4,250 jobs in construction and up to 3,100 jobs in operations.

The Tennant Creek region is seeing a revitalisation in activity, with two projects currently in construction, including the new gold plant at the Nobles Nob mine site that is expected to underpin the recommencement of a significant gold and copper mining industry in the field.

A flagship critical minerals project for the Territory is Arafura Rare Earths’ Nolans project, which is steadily moving towards final investment decision. Arafura is now fully permitted to establish Australia’s only integrated mine and rare earth separation plant, which is set to be located north of Alice Springs.

The Federal Government has recently committed concessional debt finance of $840 million to help deliver the project, with further support for debt funding from export credit agencies in Germany, Korea and Canada.

The Nolans project represents a major step in the Territory’s transition from a ‘dig-and-ship’ mining jurisdiction to having domestic downstream processing of critical minerals.

It is not just Arafura that is looking at downstream processing in the Territory. Castile Resources has commenced approvals to produce high-purity copper metal, cobalt and gold from the Rover 1 project near Tennant Creek.

Avenira is progressing a feasibility study on a lithium iron phosphate cathode

production facility at the Middle Arm Sustainable Development Precinct near Darwin, sourcing phosphate that is to be mined at its Wonarah site. In addition to this, Tivan is also investigating production of vanadium electrolyte at Middle Arm, from product initially sourced from its Speewah project in Western Australia.

The Middle Arm Sustainable Development Precinct has the potential to be one of Australia’s leading critical minerals processing hubs – located close to Asian markets and with access to low emissions energy and a carbon capture and storage hub.

Opportunities exist for the expansion of critical minerals processing at Middle Arm to include commodities such as magnesium and graphite, with large undeveloped resources occurring nearby.

The Territory Government also sees a potential future for downstream processing of lithium in the Territory, despite the substantial falls in the global lithium price in the past year that have placed many lithium operations under severe stress.

The Territory’s only lithium operation at Core Lithium’s Finniss project near Darwin suspended mining in early January due to the dramatic fall in the lithium price, but Core Lithium is continuing exploration activities in preparation for a restart when market conditions allow.

The effort to grow the Territory’s resources sector extends beyond Resourcing the Territory. In December 2023, the Territory Government agreed to all recommendations of the final report of an industry-led Mineral Development Taskforce and released its implementation plan to help prepare, build and develop industry.

An immediate priority was to replace the Territory’s profits-based mineral royalty scheme with an ad valorem system that is simple, competitive and modern, to attract the investment needed to grow the Territory’s resources sector. The new scheme includes a tiered structure to provide an incentive for downstream processing and commenced on 1 July this year.

With its government investment and strong project pipeline, the Northern Territory is quickly cementing itself as a strong player in the nation’s resources and critical minerals industry.

1. Resourcing the Territory (2018-2022) https://resourcingtheterritory.nt.gov.au/about/past-initiatives/resourcing-the-territory-20182022#:~:text=Program%20Outcome%20Evaluation%20Report&text=In%20its%20key%20findings%2C%20the,of%20the%20NT's%20 resource%20sector'.

2. Fraser Institute Annual Survey of Mining Companies 2023 https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/2023-annual-survey-ofmining-companies.pdf

MINING IN THE NATUREPOSITIVE ERA

By Dr Lorna Hernandez-Santin, Sustainable Minerals Institute

The future of mining may depend on the industry’s ability to lead environmental expectations that improve biodiversity outcomes.

Recent years have seen mainstream companies embrace ‘nature-positive’ or ‘biodiversity positive’ initiatives. These initiatives follow evidence that existing collective efforts have fallen short of halting biodiversity declines, parallel to the improved understanding of the biodiversity crisis.

Moving beyond neutralising species’ declines, the net positive initiatives intend to tackle the biodiversity crisis by reversing current trends of decline.

Expectations of mitigating impacts on biodiversity and the environment are not necessarily exclusive to mining. In the post-2020 global biodiversity framework, the United Nations’ Convention for Biological Diversity calls for “full integration of biodiversity […] across all levels of government and all sectors”.1

Nevertheless, we know mining does have environmental impacts that contribute to biodiversity decline. So how can the industry transition towards nature positivity?

A straightforward approach is by counteracting the highest environmental impacts from mining. The development of tools to aid in this endeavour are a key priority across research facilities and are readily becoming available for industry use.

Boosting post-mining rehabilitation

Ecosystem restoration can help to counteract habitat loss and degradation, while enhancing landscape connectivity can do the same for fragmentation.

Ecosystem restoration entails performing a range of activities to aid the recovery of self-sustaining landscapes. Within the mining industry, this involves mine rehabilitation practices and the improvement of offset areas.

In most countries around the world, rehabilitating mines is already standard practice, suggesting that a culture aiming to counteract habitat loss and degradation exists. However, current practices fall short of ensuring rehabilitation success in many cases.

Securing and enhancing landscape connectivity involves connecting land patches which, in turn, promotes longterm survival of species. These activities may include building wildlife crossings or improving resource availability (i.e. restoration) in smaller patches that link larger ones.

Scientists from the Centre of Mined Land Rehabilitation at the Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI) have been working with industry to improve rehabilitation practices across the world. Such work has relied on the use and development of tools that can ultimately contribute

to counteracting mining impacts on biodiversity.

Ecological monitoring tools

Appropriate monitoring of environments requires covering different aspects, including selecting suitable methods and scales (space and time). More specifically, adequate monitoring includes the choice of area, time intervals, ecological attributes and methods, which should allow comparisons within a particular land patch (over time) and across patches.

SMI researchers have been working on multiple projects to improve ecological monitoring using a combination of fieldwork and remote sensing techniques. SMI’s approach is to tailor tools and environmental monitoring techniques to each mine, where improvements in current practices lead to the most cost-efficient use of resources that safeguard rehabilitation success and create a rigorous path for progressive mine rehabilitation relinquishment.

State and transition models

A state and transition model can help to illustrate what successful and unsuccessful rehabilitation trajectories look like over time. These models can be very helpful for the timely detection of deviations from the desired trajectory,

A mine’s footprint, as seen from the air.

Image:

Dr Lorna Hernandez-Santin

which can trigger the use of management strategies to correct deviations more effectively.

Building state and transition models requires defining benchmarks for each state of the rehabilitation trajectory that consider two control types:

♦ Positive controls consist of states along the desired trajectory, with the reference ecosystem representing the end goal

♦ Negative controls consist of states along undesired trajectories, requiring data from previously rehabilitated areas with unsuccessful outcomes at the time of monitoring

In 2020, SMI published a state and transition model to aid the rehabilitation of the Ranger Uranium Mine, in the Northern Territory. This was done in collaboration with the Environmental Research Institute of the Supervising Scientist. The process of developing a state and transition model encompassed

a literature review to understand the rehabilitation strategies of different mines of the Alligator Rivers Region, including the methods, successes and failures reported in this area. The team then used data collected during the literature review to build the state and transition model.

Rehabilitation report card

Due to differences in professional backgrounds, transmitting information from the environmental team to other organisational units of a mine can be difficult. This can lead to delays or uninformed decisions that impact the rehabilitation process and, therefore, result in ineffective strategies for mitigation or rehabilitation, or creates further impacts.

The rehabilitation report card is an information sharing system that allows environmental data and rehabilitation progress to be understood by decision

makers and relevant stakeholders, regardless of their professional background. It can be considered a traffic light control to monitor the progression of rehabilitation, highlighting areas with success, those to keep an eye out for, as well as failures.

The rehabilitation report card system helps to support ecosystem restoration by improving understanding of the state of a rehabilitated area, leading to informed decisions across the mine.

For example, the system helps to assign economic resources to environmental aspects as needed, allowing future budget forecasts to be allocated more efficiently.

SMI researchers have collaborated with Glencore to develop rehabilitation report card systems that have led to the government certification of their rehabilitation at seven different mines in Queensland and New South Wales.

Habitat suitability models

Habitat suitability models help determine the geographic areas that are most important for the modelled species, which can be used to mitigate impacts (e.g. areas to avoid). Fauna species are the most common target, but these models can be developed for other species such as vegetative ones.

Habitat suitability models are created using geographical locations of a species and a combination of environmental maps (e.g. topography, climate, vegetation, etc), at any scale (property to global).

Translating landscape connectivity

Landscape connectivity models determine areas where species are most likely to travel to and from remnant patches, as well as core areas of species presence.

Due to the scale of the fragmentation issues, connectivity assessments are regional. Once assessed, actions to enhance connectivity can be taken at the property or regional scale (across mine leases and/or other land uses).

The most effective actions to counteract fragmentation require coordinated efforts at a regional level to reach a common goal, such as a net positive outcome for biodiversity.

In a recent publication2, SMI researchers explored how different mine rehabilitation targets may influence the connectivity of the landscape for flora and fauna. As requested by Queensland’s Mine Rehabilitation Commissioner, the Fitzroy Region was used as a case study. The Fitzroy Region is home to a wide range of anthropogenic activities

Landscape photographed during fieldwork.

that have contributed to elevate its fragmentation, and it has one of the highest proportions of mining leases within Queensland.

The project compared how landscape connectivity would change if the rehabilitation targets of all mines in the region were set to either agricultural or native ecosystems. This required the development of two landscape connectivity maps, which were then compared to highlight the potential gains or losses in connectivity from either rehabilitation target.

Thresholds were added to the connectivity comparison maps, providing a decision-making tool that captures the potential of landscape connectivity (or the impacts to connectivity) and is easy to interpret by mining stakeholders of all professional backgrounds.

Nature-positive opportunities

Consider the mitigation hierarchy: avoid impacts, minimise impacts, rectify impacts, reduce remaining impacts and offset impacts. This hierarchy is ordered in preference of the mitigation strategy and is aligned with preferences from the nature-positive perspective.

There are examples of successful rehabilitation across the world which suggest that fulfilling mine rehabilitation expectations is possible. However, we can do better. Rehabilitation success can and should become synonym with mining.

To reach true nature-positive outcomes, the mining industry must upscale and improve current practices to ensure adequate rectification of impacts, as well as avoiding and minimising impacts in the first place. Under this mindset shift, reducing remaining impacts and offsetting them should be the last resort.

Moving towards nature-positive outcomes requires considering flora and fauna when applying the mitigation hierarchy and its associated strategies. Considering that the goal of ecological restoration is to achieve ecosystems where fauna can conduct their normal activities, the commonly used vegetationcentric approach essentially overlooks its goal. This is highly relevant, as lack of use by fauna implies unsuccessful outcomes and rehabilitation failure.

There are a range of opportunities to apply the mitigation hierarchy and approach impacts depending on the stage of a mine’s life.

The feasibility stage has a stronger focus on avoiding impacts.

Environmental impact assessments (EIA) are standard practice during this stage. These assessments help determine how removing, storing, processing and transporting resources may impact biodiversity. It can therefore be argued that EIAs contribute to understanding the level of impact from the habitat loss and degradation perspectives, at the property scale. However, current EIAs do not allow understanding of the cumulative impacts on a region, including issues of fragmentation.

GIS and remote sensing techniques offer an opportunity to incorporate understanding of cumulative impacts from habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation during the feasibility stage. This includes the use of tools such as habitat suitability models and landscape connectivity models, including the translation of landscape connectivity tool developed by SMI.

Planning stage

The planning stage has a stronger focus on mitigating impacts, but it may also aid in avoiding impacts.

Dr Lorna Hernandez-Santin

Even if resources need to be extracted from a specific location, a company may choose the location of infrastructure for other activities within the mine (e.g. office buildings, processing, land strips, roads, etc). Thus, during the planning stage, a mine could use habitat suitability models and landscape connectivity models, including SMI’s translation of landscape connectivity tool, to detect and avoid areas of interest for a specific species or groups of species.

To consider options for net positive outcomes that mitigate impacts or to develop plans to rectify future impacts, a mine may use habitat suitability models, landscape connectivity models, SMI’s connectivity translation tool, and/or ecological monitoring tools.

Active mining stage

The active mining stage has a stronger focus on rectifying impacts, but it can also aid across the rest of the mitigation hierarchy. To rectify impacts, the focus may be on determining strategies for rectification efforts or commencing rectification itself when progressive rehabilitation is used.

Notably, early intervention is the best approach from a nature-positive perspective, as well as the most costeffective use of a mine’s resources (including economic resources). The importance of early intervention applies to both rehabilitation efforts and management actions. For example, rehabilitation efforts will be most effective when using fresh soil applied

soon after impact; thus, progressive rehabilitation is the best approach. Additionally, early detection of undesired rehabilitation trajectories can trigger management actions that require minimal costs compared to actions applied long after the deviation started.

During the active mining stage, tools used and/or developed by SMI can aid the development and monitoring of rehabilitation and management strategies. These tools include state and transition models, rehabilitation report cards and ecological monitoring tools. In addition, habitat suitability models and landscape connectivity models can be used to assess and mitigate further impacts and/or to provide a regional strategy to enhance biodiversity outcomes.

Closure stage

The closure stage has a stronger focus on rectifying impacts and reducing remaining impacts but may also involve mitigation of impacts and offsetting those that could not be eliminated. Notably, when progressive rehabilitation is possible, most of the impact rectification efforts would have commenced during the active mining stage. Ideally, this means that the process of rectifying impacts would already be polished by this stage, leading to greater rehabilitation success rates at closure.

The tools used and/or developed by SMI may be used to support rehabilitation efforts at the closure stage. Ideally, the tools that are

mine-specific (at the lease or regional scales) would have been prepared during the active mining or earlier stages, leaving only implementation at this stage.

Through design

The nature-positive approach is aligned with societal expectations for responsible mining. Therefore, naturepositive approaches can help address the international biodiversity crisis and to improve the social perception and position of mining companies.

Achieving a nature-positive outcome is possible through a range of tools that counteract the causes of species decline (i.e. habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation), particularly under strategies based on early intervention.

The simultaneous use of the tools suggested here allow a move towards net positive outcomes throughout the life of mines. These tools promote positive rehabilitation outcomes and enhance efforts relying on ecosystem restoration and landscape connectivity at the property and regional scales.

Early intervention relies on adequate monitoring and an adaptive management strategy for timely identification of rehabilitation failures that trigger the implementation of the best corrective action. An early intervention approach is also aligned with the most cost-effective strategies of mine rehabilitation, which can contribute to saving millions of dollars through early mine relinquishment.

Without targeted action from both industry and government, world-wide copper production could reach its all-time peak in just 60 years.

COPPER PRODUCTION VERSUS EV DEMAND

Copper is one of the most important metals in the world, and with the green energy transition forging ahead, it’s more vital than ever.

Arecent report by the International Energy Forum (IEF) outlines and addresses how demand for copper will continue to rise with the push to electrify homes and vehicles.

The IEF’s Copper Mining and Vehicle Electrification report addresses concerns in the industry that copper supply will struggle to keep up with rising demand. The report does this by projecting supply and demand from 2018 out to 2050 using historical copper mine output.

What is the IEF?

The IEF is the world’s largest international organisation of energy ministers, with 72 members from both producing and consuming nations, including Australia, the US, Canada, Japan, China and South Korea.

The IEF was originally founded in 1991 as a forum to facilitate collaboration between producing and consuming countries from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA).

Now, the IEF has more member countries than both OPEC and IEA combined, hailing from all over the world. The forum hosts biennial ministerial meetings that form the world’s largest gatherings of energy minsters.

Through its global platform, the IEF examines all energy issues, including gas and oil, clean and renewable energy,

sustainability, the energy transition, new technologies and even energy poverty.

Copper: the key to the future

Copper is a vital element that enables many aspects of our modern-day lives. As copper is one of the most versatile metals on Earth, humans have been finding uses for its unique properties for thousands of years. These uses included everything from utensils and jewellery, to the copper pipes used in early plumbing and the creation of alloys like brass and bronze.

In the modern day, copper’s most useful quality is its conductivity. While this property was first utilised to carry heat for cooking and heating, nowadays copper most frequently carries the electricity that powers our everyday lives. Every time you use an appliance, switch on a light or turn on your computer, copper plays a key role in making that possible.

Copper is set to play a critical part in the electrification of the world’s vehicles and infrastructure. As the world continues to shift to clean energy, copper demand is expected to skyrocket as it forms a vital component of new and emerging energy technologies.

Supply and demand

A big part of the clean energy transition involves switching 100 per cent of vehicle manufacturing from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to EVs.

Many studies have been undertaken to analyse the increased copper supply that such an endeavour will require, and the results have raised concerns that supply will be unable to meet demand.

The IEF’s report has estimated that to meet ‘business-as-usual‘ trends in copper demand, 115 per cent more copper will need to be mined in the next 30 years than has ever been mined historically up to 2018. The report predicts that in response to this demand, copper mine output will increase by approximately 82 per cent, as many new mines open.

Electrifying the global vehicle fleet would require 55 per cent more new mines than would otherwise be needed for ‘business-as-usual‘ demand.

Despite this, the report says that concerns about how much copper is available to be mined are unfounded, with an estimated 6,598Mt of copper available to be mined worldwide. The baseline projected copper ore production over the next 30 years adds up to approximately 1,689Mt of ore, or 26 per cent of the total available resource.

The report states that while there should be enough copper ore available to be mined, there is concern that the industry may not be able to mine the resource fast enough to support baseline global development and vehicle electrification.

The report finds that the strongest evidence for this concern is the lack

of sufficient copper resources in the discovery pipeline.

New copper mines that started operation between 2019 and 2022 took, on average, 23 years from the time of resource discovery to be fully permitted, built and put into operation.

Within this long discovery-to-operation pipeline, the report says that there should be at least ten years of prospects with a combined production potential of more than 8Mt per year in the pipeline for the industry to have any confidence that it can meet the 1.7 major deposits per year discovery rate required for production to meet EV manufacture demand.

However, these prospects are not currently in the pipeline. A study of scheduled mine closures and new mines predicts that copper production will rise above baseline demand until 2025 but then strongly decline, such that mine production rates in 2030 will be nearly the same as they were in 2018.

This projection is based on the fact that mining companies are struggling to discover new large high-grade copper deposits. Only 16 of the 224 copper deposits discovered since 1990 were discovered in the past decade, despite mining exploration budgets having increased by three or four times since 2005.

The report posits that this is due to the chain of unlikely occurrences that must follow the initial discovery of a viable resource. Discovery of a copper

resource must be followed by drilling and preliminary economic and engineering assessment to confirm a potential mineral resource. Further drilling, economic evaluation, engineering and metallurgical assessment is then required to ensure that an ore reserve can become a viable mining operation.

The report found that the success rate of discovering an initial occurrence of at least 0.1Mt was around one in 2,500 during the period of 2001 to 2010, and is now around one in 5,000. On top of this, the rate of success for a copper occurrence becoming a mineable economic deposit is between one in 100 and one in 800.

Meeting spiking demand

The report states that there is remarkably little difference between the amount of copper needed to manufacture hybrid-electric rather than ICE vehicles. Hybrid vehicles require 29kg of copper compared to 24kg for an ICE vehicle.

The report therefore recommends that the transition target be changed from the 100 per cent manufacture of battery electric vehicles – which require 60kg of copper – to 100 per cent manufacture of hybrid-electric vehicles by 2035.

The report acknowledges that although this is not a perfect or long-term solution, it is a more resource-realistic one.

For the longer term, the report states that it is important that copper exploration and mine development

receive greater encouragement and investment, starting immediately.

To that end, the report recommends that:

♦ Technologies needed for exploration of deeper copper deposits and leaching be encouraged as a matter of urgency

♦ More land be made available for exploration to create new mines

♦ Work be done to change attitudes toward exploration, land access and drilling

♦ C apital allocation for deeperthan-conventional mines or mines in remote locations that lack infrastructure be encouraged

♦ Studies of ocean mining be accelerated, with a goal of achieving a scientific understanding of potential impacts by a defined future date

♦ Copper recycling be further enabled and encouraged Ultimately the report warns that without targeted action from both industry and government, world-wide copper production could reach its all-time peak in just 60 years.

With copper playing such an important role in modern technology and infrastructure, and the anticipated soar in demand that the energy transition will bring, it is vitally important to boost production while simultaneously managing demand to a more attainable level.

Copper is set to play a critical role in the electrification of the world's vehicles.

CIRCULAR BENEFITS OF LOW- CARBON CONCRETE

There is no one-size-fits-all solution for sustainability, and mining waste streams are increasingly becoming the target of sustainability practices in the industry.

Sustainability in the industry can take on many forms and encompass applications across the entire production chain.

Sustainable practices for industry waste streams have been gaining popularity in recent years, including repurposing tailings and treating mine water for reuse, as well as recycling off-the-road tyres. Sustainable practices can also be applied to waste streams indirectly created by industry.

An example of this is coal ash, a byproduct of burning coal at coal-fired power plants. With more than 1.2 billion tonnes of coal ash produced annually, work to address the challenges of coal waste’s substantial impact to the environment is an industry focus.

Tackling this challenge, a team of researchers at RMIT University has developed a low-carbon concrete that has the potential to significantly enhance recycling of coal wastes and sustainability in construction.

As well as tackling the copious amounts of coal ash, this development also works to mitigate the high carbon embodiment from cement production, which constitutes around eight per cent of global emissions.

RMIT’s new prototype material can reclaim double the amount of coal ash compared to current standards, which halves the cement usage for

concrete production and maintains exceptional performance.

Project lead from RMIT’s School of Engineering, Dr Chamila Gunasekara, said, “Our research aims to make a vital contribution to Australia's net zero emission target towards 2050 and pave the way for a new generation of building and infrastructure construction, both in Australia and internationally.”

The team behind the scenes

Led by Dr Gunasekara, the project on low-carbon concrete development commenced in 2016, soon after the completion of Dr Gunasekara’s PhD candidature.

Dr Gunasekara began experimenting on various supplementary cementitious materials to reduce carbon embodiment of concrete production alongside a team of researchers at RMIT University.

The team recognised the need to address sustainability concerns in building and construction and, with concrete still the most used material within the sector, approached the problem with low-carbon concrete.

Cement clinker is the most common ingredient in concrete and was flagged as a key area where sustainability could be enhanced.

“With decades of research and development history, the challenge in further enhancing sustainability still

lies in clinker production, a crucial step in cement manufacturing, where CO2 reduction has already been optimised,” Dr Gunasekara said.

“While further reduction of carbon footprint in clinker production is difficult, there is potential in the emergence of alternative sustainable materials. However, for these materials to be viable in engineering practice, they must be readily available with a robust supply chain in given regions.”

This way of thinking shifted the attention of the project to the various ash wastes generated from coal-fired power plants. Even with energy structure reform towards an increasing adoption of renewable resources, traditional power stations are expected to persist for the next decade, resulting in an accumulation of under-utilised coal-fired byproducts for years to come.

“There are plenty of such materials in Australia and around the globe. Take fly ash as a prime example, which will remain abundantly available despite the shift towards renewables in the future,”

Dr Gunasekara said.

Materials science and low-carbon concrete

Fly ash is a byproduct from coal combustion which has gained prominence due to its fine granular particle size, as well as pozzolanic

Dr Chamila Gunasekara holds a sample of the low-carbon concrete.

Image: Michael Quin

properties, which could enhance the durability and strength of concrete when used to partially replace cement clinker.

The usage of coal fly ash in the construction industry is prevalent in recent decades. Coal fly ash has been widely introduced to cement manufacturing as a valuable supplementary cementitious material to create beneficial synergy with cement during hydration.

Since the initial adoption of fly ash as a supplementary cementitious material around the globe, research and innovation have led to a deeper understanding of its properties over time, driving its widespread application in the construction sector.

Alongside an increase in environmental concerns (specifically global warming), the demand for sustainable building practices has intensified and the use of fly ash as a cement alternative has attracted even more attention.

This is due to cement production being a major source of CO2 emissions, primarily caused by the calcination process, where limestone (calcium carbonate) is heated to produce lime (calcium oxide), releasing CO2 in the process. Furthermore, fossil fuels, including coal, oil and natural gas, are often used as energy sources in cement kilns for the calcination process.

Cement manufacturing is energyintensive, requiring large amounts of electricity for grinding raw materials into the cement clinker, further contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and exacerbating climate change.

To this end, the RMIT team developed a nano-engineered method to substitute up to 80 per cent of the cement in concrete with coal fly ash, surpassing the typical 40 per cent replacement rate in existing low-carbon concretes.

"Our addition of nano additives to modify the concrete’s chemistry and microstructure allows more fly ash to be added without compromising engineering performance. That is how we doubled the current cement reduction in concrete. Our research entailed considerable time and effort in refining the optimal mixture to accommodate this

doubled waste inclusion in concrete,” Dr Gunasekara said.

Beyond just fly ash, the team at RMIT has demonstrated that lower-grade pond ash from coal slurry storage ponds can also be repurposed effectively. Concrete prototypes that have been made using both fly ash and pond ash have been shown to meet Australian engineering and environmental standards, exposing the potential to repurpose a vastly under-utilised resource from coal mining and power generation.

“It’s exciting that our preliminary results show similar performance for concrete prepared with lower-grade pond ash, potentially opening a whole new hugely under-utilised resource for cement replacement. Compared to fly ash, pond ash is under-exploited in construction due to its different physical and chemical characteristics.

“There are hundreds of megatonnes of ash wastes sitting in dams around Australia, and much more globally. These ash ponds risk becoming a major environmental hazard and the ability to repurpose this ash in construction materials at scale would be a massive win across many sectors,” Dr Gunasekara said.

“With this new low-carbon concrete demonstrating comparable structural capacity and durability to conventional concrete, we are currently conducting a full lifecycle assessment to understand the environmental impact of this material from production to end of life.

“It is expected that this innovation can reduce CO2 emissions by ten to 20 percent, which is a significant achievement. After developing these mix proportions as well as matching the chemistry and other factors, the next step was to test the long-term performance, such as in 25 years etc., with the assistance of the computer tool developed by Dr Yuguo Yu.

“In the end, we need to meet all specifications and standards to satisfy engineering and environmental requirements to put into engineering practice,” Dr Gunasekara said.

Assessing long-term performance

Virtual computational mechanics expert at RMIT University, Dr Yuguo Yu, got involved in the project, confronting a persistent challenge in civil engineering – predicting the long-term durability of newly developed lowcarbon materials.

Dr Yu said the team developed a predictive modelling tool for assessing the time-dependent performance of various cementitious materials and composites.

“We’ve now created a physics-based model to predict how the low-carbon concrete will stand the test of time, which offers us unique opportunities to reverse engineer and optimise mixture design from computational insights,” Dr Yu said.

The development of the modelling tool was a big undertaking, with Dr Dilan Robert and Dr David Law key members of the team, partnering with AGL's Loy Yang Power Station and the Ash Development Association of Australia. Dr Yogarajah Elakneswaran from Hokkaido University also contributed to the development of the model.

With this joint effort, the developed computer modelling program enabled the team to forecast the new concrete’s long-term performance, in line with the goal to reduce general cement usage and address environmental waste challenges, whilst promoting sustainable construction practices with enhanced long-term durability and resilience.

The modelling tool can also enable the optimisation of concrete mixes by understanding the interactions of each ingredient over time, enhancing material density and compactness with nano additives.

Circularity in mining

Given that ash wastes generated by coal-fired power plant originate from coal mining, creating circularity within the mining industry has appeal, especially within the context of Australia.

There are many structures supporting mining processes that can be built from cementitious materials, such as acid mine cut-off walls and tailings dams.

The use of fly ash and/or pond ash can improve the strength, durability and impermeability of concrete, making it an excellent material for constructing cut-off walls. The pozzolanic property of ash waste helps in the neutralisation of acidic environments, making it suitable for use in acid mine drainage prevention structures. Additionally, the fine particles of fly ash can refine the pore structure of concrete, reducing permeability to enhance the capability

of cut-off walls in preventing seepage of contaminated mining wastewater.

Considering the ready availability of fly and pond ash, and the cheaper price tag than cement clinker, using it can lower the overall cost of auxiliary mining construction projects, creating enormous benefits and circularity within the mining industry.

With appropriate quality control using the new prototype and modelling innovation from the RMIT team, these wastes can be effectively repurposed to enhance the sustainability and safety of mining operations.

“Our priority moving forward is to achieve commercialisation of the low-carbon concrete and computer

T-Ports I Seeking strategic partners to support expansion projects

Seeking Proposals by EOI

Eyre & Yorke Peninsula, SA

–Existing port sites located at Lucky Bay (Eyre Peninsula) and Wallaroo (Yorke Peninsula) offering diverse development options

–Sites can be extended to include additional berth capacity, export and import facilities, stockpile and laydown storage, roll-on roll-off berth capacity

– Accommodating for alternative commodities (grains, mining, mineral sands, renewables, etc), containerised products, fabrication and assembly yards, and project cargos

Seeking proposals by Expressions of Interest

modelling tool. We have spent a considerable amount of time balancing the chemistry and developing our mixed proportion technology, supported by extensive simulation and physics-based modelling,” Dr Gunasekara said.

“The commercialisation of our work ultimately depends on its reception from end-users.

“We've garnered partnerships with many local councils who align with our TREMS research hub. With abundant resources at hand, we're actively collaborating with local councils to deploy our concrete prototypes with the support of fresh computational insights.”

The team’s low-carbon concrete product is expected to be equally scalable compared to conventional concrete and can be produced in a normal batching plant without needing any additional sophisticated production lines.

“We can take advantage of the existing batching plants for mass production and commercialisation,” Dr Gunasekara said.

Beyond the mining sector, these advancements can also be integrated into a range of construction projects, including footpaths, structural elements in residential buildings and extensions to critical infrastructure like rural bridges and roads, and can have a significant impact on a variety of industries.

The RMIT team: (L-R) Dr Yuguo Yu, Professor Sujeeva Setunge, Dr Dilan Robert, Dr Chamila Gunasekara and Dr David Law.

Image: Michael Quin

DIGGING

THE SCIENCE OF MINING

Tackling workforce shortages is a key priority in mining, and school-to-industry programs are working to educate and inspire the next generation to pursue careers in the industry.

By James Sorahan, Executive Director, Minerals Council of Australia Victoria

In the words of a 16-year-old regional Victorian student: “I never knew a job like this existed.”

This admission was made when the student was given the opportunity to meet a metallurgist on a visit to the Stawell Gold Mine. The visit was made possible through the Minerals Council

of Australia (MCA) Victoria’s career immersion program.

The program, which commenced in 2022, takes secondary school students from regional communities to operating mine sites to learn about the diverse range of careers on offer in the mining industry and future jobs in the sector.

Since the program’s inception, more than 700 students from 30 schools have taken part and have visited Victoria’s mines.

Shaping perceptions

Research into mining career perceptions has shown that approximately 40 per

Images: James Sorahan

Students on a school visit investigate a haul truck at Agnico Eagle’s Fosterville Gold Mine.

cent of secondary school students have limited knowledge of the mining industry.

A recent Australian Mining and Automotive Skills (AUSMASA) survey into Gen Z’s perceptions of mining found that 73 per cent of young people think mining does more harm than good to the world. The survey findings also indicated that less than half of respondents consider mining to be important for a modern lifestyle and standard of living.

The MCA said that these results demonstrate an example of perceptions not meeting reality, and that it is up to industry to change this.

A common refrain of teachers is that ‘you can’t be what you can’t see’ and the career immersion program aims to address this head-on in an industry which suffers from misconceptions.

The program encourages young people to consider a career in mining at a critical stage of their secondary school life, providing information on the pathways to jobs in mining by facilitating meetings with workers, from engineers to metallurgists and geologists to drillers.

The vast range of jobs in mining is an important realisation students take with them. No matter the interests of a young person, there is almost certainly a role for them at a mine site.

Taking steps onsite

The typical field trip to a mine starts with a safety briefing from health and safety officers onsite. This also gives

workers an opportunity to emphasise the importance of safety in mining and the qualities required for people interested in working at a mine site.

Students then have the chance to meet employees in their workplaces – from diesel mechanics in the mine workshop, to engineers in remote operations rooms discussing technology used in mining, and environmental scientists offering insight into rehabilitation work. A visit to the mill is always an important part of the tour, giving students the chance to meet metallurgists and be wowed by the science in mining. From there, it’s off to the core shed to hear from geologists.

From apprentices to mine managers and everything in between, students return to their schools and families with a new perspective on mining: a distinct contrast from the typical Victorian school visit, panning for gold at Sovereign Hill. Each employee students meet tells the story about their pathway into mining, and the diverse range of ways to enter mining always surprises students. It helps that mining is the highest paying industry in the country, but students are equally interested in environmental initiatives

Students from Catherine McAuley College, Bendigo, at Mandalay Resources’ Costerfield Operations.

The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) Victoria’s career immersion program allows secondary school students to visit mine sites.

eager to give students real life exposure to regional industries. Teachers are also able to gain knowledge to share in future years. This is a critical component of the program – to support careers advisers, science teachers and Vocational Major teachers and teach them about the jobs and pathways that they can then pass onto students.

The program has led to some direct jobs and an abundance of work experience follow-ups. Agnico Eagle’s Fosterville Gold Mine employed a young woman after the first visit to the mine through the program in 2022. The young woman in question is now a diesel mechanic apprentice in the light vehicle workshop with a bright future ahead.

A new approach

The field trips form part of a wider career awareness program the MCA has implemented in recent years, including a dedicated mining careers website, videos and career resources such as the Mining Careers Guide and 30 Things booklet, which shines a light on the everyday items the average person uses that are full of minerals sourced from mining.

This career awareness program is important to support schools, empower young people and provide information about modern mining, which values responsible practices.

Attendance at career days across Victoria and visits by NRL Melbourne Storm star and former mining electrical apprentice, Josh King, complete the full suite of support the MCA provides Victorian schools to inspire and inform students about their career options.

Why is this so important in Victoria? Not only is mining a huge employer Australia-wide, with more than 300,000 working in the industry, Victoria’s mining sector is set to grow with new mineral sands and rare earths mines nearing the approvals stage, which will require hundreds of workers in rural areas.

In addition to this is the growth in Victorian mining in recent years. The success of the Fosterville Gold Mine –now Bendigo’s fourth biggest employer – Australia’s only antinomy mine at Costerfield, operated by Mandalay Resources, and the reopening of Stawell Gold Mine in 2019 has seen Victoria produce more gold now than it has for the last 100 years.

There is more work to do to expand pathways for young people interested in mining in regional Victoria in particular. The lack of mining-related courses to point young people to is a frustration felt across the industry.

MCA Victoria has received support from the Victoria Skills Authority to develop a unique new ‘course in mining pathways’ that has been accredited by the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority. The next step is to pilot the course, with the Mildura and Swan Hill-based SuniTAFE leading the roll out in time for new Victorian mineral sands mines being constructed in the near future.

It is also essential that courses relevant to local jobs are offered by regional TAFEs, but MCA Victoria said the system is clunky and slow to respond to future workforce needs given the costs associated with putting new courses on scope.

Industry leading the charge

According to MCA Victoria, mining has work to do to improve perceptions of mining and increase inclusiveness and diversity in the mining workforce.

Students visit the Fosterville Gold Mine.

Students on a school visit to Agnico Eagle’s Fosterville Gold Mine.

This is especially critical because mining employment is growing – now at almost 300,000 jobs – and with the need for more minerals in modern technology, the world will need more workers in mining.

Inspiring the next generation is a key priority and this starts with young people’s circle of influence – their parents, careers advisers and teachers. Without a pipeline of students coming out of secondary school, university courses in mining engineering, geology and metallurgy will continue to face enrolment challenges.

It is up to industry to lead the way and engage with schools.

According to MCA Victoria, the state's mining industry understands its role in supporting schools and building awareness of great mining careers. Agnico Eagle, Mandalay Resources, Stawell Gold Mines and Ballarat Gold Mine have all hosted extremely informative tours. The experience has been rewarding for mine employees who are proud of the industry and keen to support the next generation of mining workers.

Through the MCA Victoria career immersion program, it is hoped that young regional Victorians will have their eyes opened to careers they never thought about that can provide good jobs close to home or take them around the world in the global mining industry.

Students pose on a site visit to Mandalay Resources’ Costerfield Operations.

An operator navigates a drone through rehabilitated forest at one of

The sky’s the limit

Aluminium company Alcoa Australia is using drones to carry out a range of tasks across its mining and refining operations, and this is just the beginning of its journey.

Alcoa’s bauxite mines in Western Australia.

Technological advancements are giving rise to a range of equipment that is seeing an uptick in applications across various industries. In the mining industry, one of the most adopted is drones, with mine owners and operators finding innovative ways to implement these technologies across their operations.

From identifying nesting hollows in trees at its mine sites to inspecting confined spaces for repair and maintenance requirements, Alcoa Australia is adopting drone technology in a range of ways.

Alcoa Senior Digital Specialist and chief drone pilot, Andrew King, said the technology can provide substantial safety benefits while enabling many tasks to be performed more rapidly and with a greater degree of accuracy.

“Inspections at heights, in confined spaces and in other hard to access locations become far more straightforward,” Mr King said.

“We’re also able to put drones into environments far sooner than we might be able to put people in there because of risks such as chemical or dust exposure.”

This has led to significant reductions in downtime and costs. Mr King said these factors, along with the ability to overcome resourcing issues, are delivering considerable savings.

“In 2023, cost benefits were in the millions of dollars with one drone operator, and we expect that with additional operators allowing us to address a broader range of tasks, those savings could be increased significantly when deployed across the entire business,” Mr King said.

Complementing the workforce

Alongside the uptake of modern technology across industries was the fear that workers may see their jobs replaced by these innovations. However, companies that are adopting these technologies alongside workforces are reaping the most benefits.

“This is not about replacing jobs but getting safer, smarter and faster in the ways we operate,” Mr King said. “We’re training more people to use drones so they can enhance ways they approach a range of everyday tasks.”

Mr King said the innovation is not in the drones themselves, which he described as nothing more than “flying selfie

sticks”, but in the range of accessories that can be used along with them. These accessories include high-tech cameras and sensors, in addition to tools for detection, collection and carrying.

These kinds of technologies allow drones to be used for tasks such as wear and corrosion inspections, while thermal imaging technology could spot potential issues and even assist in determining the size of hollows used by animals, including black cockatoos.

“Thermal imaging allows us to determine the size of hollows –indicating if they are likely to be used as habitat – so we can identify trees to be protected before mining gets underway,” Mr King said.

Upskilling workers

While artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies are advancing to enable autonomous flying, Mr King said many of the current applications require highly-skilled operators. The rigorous training these operators must undergo typically lasts between six and nine months for dedicated pilots.

As well as developing other specialised skills, this training allows drones to be manoeuvred in hard-to-access locations

Images: Alcoa Australia

Alcoa drone pilot Andrew King prepares to inspect ship loading facilities at Kwinana.

and enables them to take high-resolution photos and videos to inform repair and maintenance requirements.

However, Mr King said ‘citizen pilots’ require less comprehensive training, and can rapidly realise the benefits that introducing drones into their workflows can produce.

“When I first helped with mine surveying work there was a bit of concern that we’d be replacing people with drones,” Mr King said.

“But two years later we’ve increased the mine survey team from three to ten people and they’re using drones quite comprehensively because of the valuable data that can be collected, analysed and used to inform continuous improvement in the ways we manage our mining operations.”

Mr King said that coupled with the company’s Power BI application – which can help transform data into coherent, interactive insights – Alcoa Australia is able to analyse large volumes of geological, hydrological and other data quickly to make very precise decisions.

Counting the cost

Adopting advanced technology can sometimes come with a hefty price tag. Costs for drones and associated equipment can range from anywhere between $500 and $150,000. As such, Mr King said that operating the equipment safely and with extreme precision is vital – hence the requirement for comprehensive training.

Over the past five years, there have been just two casualties in Alcoa Australia’s drone family – and to unlikely predators.

Mr King said that wedge-tailed eagles will readily attack drones that fly into their territory, but fortunately the two drones that fell victim to Australia’s largest bird of prey were lower cost models. Nevertheless, Alcoa’s drone pilots are taught about eagle ‘escape and evasion’ procedures and know to stay out of the air if eagles are spotted in the vicinity.

Future applications

The future applications are broad, and Mr King said that embracing autonomous operations and machine learning are on the cards to assist with tasks such as scheduled inspections and surveillance operations.

“There are some exciting machine learning opportunities, including identifying exceptions. That means instead of having to monitor hours of footage, we can be alerted to the issues

and act quickly and efficiently to avoid potential problems or resolve them,” he said.

“That could be as simple as looking for rocks or potholes on haul roads, through to identifying unplanned movement of animals, equipment or people across site.”

As well as assisting to streamline the everyday operations onsite, these technologies can also assist with bolstering an operation’s sustainability credentials.

Mr King said that Alcoa Australia has explored various remote sensing

technologies to improve and streamline rehabilitation design, execution and monitoring. Successful trials in this area have led to the integration of drones to assist with monitoring requirements.

A project that is currently underway is investigating the use of drones to inspect established areas of postmining rehabilitation.

Under the rehabilitation completion criteria that Alcoa Australia works to, target numbers for native jarrah and marri trees are required per hectare. With hundreds of hectares of rehabilitation occurring each year, resourcing

Drone operators take a photo during a confined space inspection.

Drone footage of a washer inspection at Alcoa’s Pinjarra Alumina Refinery.

inspections is challenging. Mr King said the use of drone-mounted sensors to determine different species and identify individual trees from above was showing great promise.

“As people across our operations become aware of how we’re currently using drones, they come to us with new ideas,” he said.

“We’re evaluating the use of autonomous drones for fertiliser delivery across areas being rehabilitated – a task currently requiring the use of helicopters – and are even thinking of things like delivery of spares to machinery operators in the field to further reduce downtime.

“The business is very supportive because there are compelling cases for all the applications we have implemented so far. If anything, we must narrow down the use cases to prioritise those that can offer immediate benefits with improvements in safety and accuracy being the primary objectives.”

Equipment enhancements and innovations are showing no signs of abating, and mining organisations that can embrace these technologies can not only realise cost-savings and project efficiencies, but can also unlock a range of applications.

An operator navigates a drone through rehabilitated forest at one of Alcoa’s bauxite mines in Western Australia.

A WARM WELCOME TO

WA MINING 2024

For the fifth year in a row, Western Australia’s premier mining technology event is returning to Perth to showcase the state’s critical role in the resource industry’s digital evolution.

The 2024 WA Mining Exhibition and Conference (WA Mining) features an exhibition floor packed with around 120 exhibitors and a highly anticipated conference program boasting a line-up of over 40 key industry players.

Kicking the conference off on day one will be Western Australian Minister for Mines and Petroleum, David Michael, who will use his keynote to reflect on the long-lasting, dynamic and diverse work the sector does to sustain the state’s economy.

“WA has been a leader in some automation technologies, with over 400 autonomous trucks operating across the state at the moment. With that digitalisation, there are some really important things that we're doing in Western Australia.”

Strategies for combining digital innovation with operational and executional excellence are a key focus of WA Mining, and the exhibition will see mining organisations showcasing their technical and digital innovations across the two-day event.

Looking ahead for WA

When reflecting on WA’s future, Minister Michael touched on two key topics that will be discussed at the WA Mining paid conference: decarbonisation and critical minerals.

“We have an unbelievable mineral wealth in Western Australia with lots still to explore,” Minister Michael said.

“I think we have world-leading projects, and I know that there are lots more coming down the pipeline for our traditional gold and iron ore, but also for those important critical minerals where we can help the world decarbonise.”

This year’s WA Mining event features the highly anticipated return of the Decarbonisation Showcase, where key players in decarbonisation will be assembled in one convenient zone on the exhibition floor.

WA’s unique advantage

Among the more tangible and measurable features of the state’s industry, a key advantage of the Western Australian mining sector, according to Minister Michael, is its people.

“Because of the decades of history in the Western Australian mining sector, we have some great brains in mining companies, exploration companies, in the METS sector, in research as well as in our universities, that obviously help us in Western Australia be one of, if not the best mining jurisdiction in the world,” he said.

“I know that within our industry, a lot of people know each other – they've all been on different projects in the past, and a lot of people have been around for

a while. For those people, events like WA Mining are a good time to catch up and exchange notes.

“I've found that the industry is generally very, very collaborative. People do like to catch up and talk to each other.

“For newer entrants into the mining industry and for younger people, it’s a good opportunity to learn from others, see best practice, and get some knowledge from exhibitions and conferences like WA Mining.”

Spending time on the exhibition floor is something Minister Michael said he is looking forward to at the event.

“I love getting around and learning about projects. I kind of have an open door – as my time allows – to learn about new projects, evolving technologies and all the mining services companies in the state. I’m looking forward to having a wander around and seeing some of the great stuff that's going on.”

Western Australian Minister for Mines and Petroleum, David Michael, will give the opening keynote on the first day of the conference.

The WA Mining exhibition floor will be packed with around 120 exhibitors.

EXHIBITORS

global expertise and in-depth local knowledge to provide durable and efficient equipment that understands and meets the specific needs of the Australian market.

Aury’s design engineers think outside the box to provide traditional vibrating technology with leading-edge thinking and design techniques, to produce innovative capital equipment that is superior to anything found in the market today.

Known for its ability to optimise ore processing and enhance operational productivity, Aury Australia’s product range is crafted with sustainability and customer satisfaction as a key priority. The company's innovative solutions are specifically engineered to withstand the harsh conditions of the mining industry while maintaining high performance standards.

In order to better serve key mining regions, Aury Australia has expanded its operations, with new state-of-the-art facilities in Rutherford, New South Wales, and Perth, Western Australia. These strategic locations enable the company to provide prompt service and support to clients across Australia.

With a team consisting of industry experts and professionals, Aury Australia is dedicated to ensuring that clients not only benefit from the latest technological advancements, but also receive exceptional aftersales support.

The company's unwavering commitment to innovation, quality and environmental responsibility has solidified Aury Australia’s reputation as a trusted partner in the mining sector.

engineering and performance plastics, providing great solutions and top customer care.

An Australian industry leader since 1981, E-Plas offers decades of invaluable experience and expertise, dedicated customer service and a comprehensive premium product range – from high-quality plastic stock shapes and lining products to custom machined components.

Why visit E-Plas at WA Mining? E-Plas supplies specialised TIVAR® UHMW-PE and QuickSilver Truck Linings solutions for mining and bulk handling, including tackling abrasive, corrosive, heavy materials and mineral ores. E-Plas offers the industry a wide plastics range perfectly suited to the rigors and demands of mining and other bulk handling environments, including tried-and-true materials like polypropylene, polycarbonate, acetal, nylon, PTFE, PEEK, HDPE and acrylic.

The company strives to provide its customers with the best product at the best price and prides itself on its highquality product range and consistent supply from leading global manufacturers, as well as its excellent customer service and support.

Some of the brands E-Plas represents include MCAM (Mitsubishi), TIVAR® 88, TIVAR® 88-2, QuickSilver Truck Lining Systems, Rochling Sustaplast, Rochling Engineering, BEN Plastics, Guarniflon and Palram.

E-Plas has a team of friendly, knowledgeable staff that combine decades of experience with enthusiasm and passion. E-Plas also has the following quality certification AS/NZS ISO 9001:2016 and certificate QEC 20749.

STAND E125

STAND E120

FOREST GROVE

Headquartered in Perth, Forest Grove is your strategic data partner.

Forest Grove works with mining and mining services businesses to turn data into actionable insights, reduce operational costs and maximise profitability.

In an industry where progress is stalled by outdated spreadsheets, siloed data, disconnected or legacy systems and a lack of visibility across operations and business performance, Forest Grove’s end-to-end data analytics and financial performance management solutions ensure that the right data reaches the right people, exactly when they need it.

Forest Grove specialises in modernising, automating and streamlining business processes surrounding budgeting, forecasting, consolidation, advanced analytics, data integration and visualisation, with the mission of enabling faster, smarter decision-making that drives business success.

Whether you’re a CEO, CFO, mine manager, IT manager, or digital expert, Forest Grove can help you improve your business performance through data-driven decision-making.

SETH DIESEL

Seth Diesel understands the vital role of reliable machinery in mining operations and is committed to keeping your equipment in prime condition to ensure the smooth and efficient running of business operations.

With its team of skilled HD technicians, auto electricians and boilermakers, Seth Diesel employs the latest technology and equipment to provide top-of-the-line services for a range of heavy machinery and equipment.

Offering a comprehensive suite of services to help heavyduty equipment perform at its best, Seth Diesel provides everything from labour hire and routine maintenance to emergency repairs, field service, component replacement and diagnostic services.

Machinery and equipment form the backbone of operations, and reliable maintenance is the key to the success of mining operations. Seth Diesel’s routine maintenance services ensure heavy-duty equipment operates at peak efficiency, avoiding costly downtime and extending the lifespan of machinery.

At Seth Diesel, customer satisfaction is the goal, and the knowledgeable, friendly team works closely with clients to understand and meet their unique project needs. Seth Diesel also prioritises corporate social responsibility (CSR) to align its operations, integrating environmental, social and economic considerations into its business strategy.

Things change quickly in the mining industry, and Seth Diesel invests in innovative technologies that help reduce environmental impact throughout product life cycles.

Count on Seth Diesel for top-notch maintenance and repair services for your equipment.

TECHKINGTYRE SOLUTIONS

Techking is a global supplier of tyres for mining and construction.

Specialising in key segments has enabled Techking to focus on developing tyres matched to specific applications, producing top tier tyres that provide outstanding durability, performance and value.

Since its inception in 2007, Techking has grown to supply and service major customers in more than 100 countries around the globe. With its solutions-oriented approach, Techking is well on its way to achieving its vision of becoming a leading mining and construction tyre brand.

Techking’s success has grown from its commitment to meet customers’ needs. Techking can optimise tyre performance and value through its investment in research and development, surveys of each customer’s working conditions and the creation of tyres matched to each customer’s needs.

As part of its commitment to localisation in key mining countries globally, Techking has established a solid presence in Australia. Techking operates fully stocked warehouses close to major mining areas. From these locations Techking supplies a national network of dealers to service a wide variety of customers.

With the widest range of construction and earthmoving tyres from an emerging supplier, Techking has built a reputation for the strength and durability of its tyres for mining and construction truck, loader and crane applications.

Techking’s commitment to after sales service is second to none. Regular visits to Australia from factory engineers working with a highly skilled local team and its customers, enables Techking to continue to improve tyre durability, performance and overall value.

STAND H113

CONFERENCE PROGRAM & EXHIBITOR LISTINGS

WA MINING CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION 2024 AGENDA

DAY 1 – WEDNESDAY 9 OCTOBER 2024

TIME SESSION

9:00am Doors Open

Sponsored by:

9:10am – 9:15amWelcome Remarks and Acknowledgement of Country by Conference Director

9:15am – 9:20amWelcome by MC

9:20am – 9:35amMinisterial Address

9:35am – 10:15amKeynote: Resources Sector Update and Outlook

10:15am – 10:40amMorning Tea Break

10:40am – 11:20amKeynote: DiiMOS - The Future of Distributed, Integrated and Intelligent Mining Operating Systems

11:20am – 12:05pmPanel Discussion: Decarbonisation isn’t just an Obligation; it’s an Opportunity 12:05pm – 1:05pm Lunch

1:05pm – 1:35pmPanel Discussion: Developing a Circular Economy for Critical Minerals

1:35pm – 2:15pm Panel Discussion: Tech-driven Mining Operations - A Window to Enhanced Efficiency and Precision

2:15pm – 2:45pmKeynote: Cyber Process Hazard Analysis (CPHA) in Mining Operations

2:45pm – 3:15pmAfternoon Tea Break

3:15pm – 4:00pmRoundtables: People, Technology & Supply

4:00pm Closing Remarks; End of Conference

5:00pm Exhibition closes; Networking Session

The Australian Mining Prospect Awards will be held from 7.00pm till late at Fraser’s Restaurant, Perth.

DAY 2 – THURSDAY 10 OCTOBER 2024

TIME SESSION

9:00am Doors Open

9:05am – 9:10amDay 2 Opening remarks, Acknowledgement of Country and Recap by MC

9:10am – 9:40amKeynote: Sector Update and Future Growth Prospects

9:40am – 10:20am Keynote and Panel Discussion: Empowering Operational Excellence: Rio Tinto's Journey of Implementing Integrated Supply Chain Solution with Track’em TNT

10:20am – 10:50amKeynote: Creating a Positive Mindset in the Resources Industry 10:50am – 11:10amMorning Tea Break

11:10am – 11:50pmAccelerated Vehicle Acquisition and Trialling within a Decarbonisation Framework 11:50pm – 1:10 pmLunch

1:10pm – 1:40pmKeynote: Zero waste - A Tailings Turning Point: Transitioning from Trash to Treasure

1:40pm – 2:10pmKeynote: Balancing Innovation and Responsibility in AI Implementation

2:10pm – 2:50pmPanel Discussion: Uncover the Path to a Safer Tomorrow

2:50pm – 3:10pmAfternoon Tea Break

3:10pm – 3:55pmPanel Discussion: Uranium and Nuclear Energy – a Future for Australia? 3:55pm – 4:00pmClosing Remarks: End of Conference

5:00pm Exhibition closes

*Accurate as at time of printing

COMPANY NAME STAND

3D Digital Garage E115

4D Delta G128

A.H. Beard D125

Advanced Braking TechnologyH124

AFL TelecommunicationsE124

ALLIGHT B133

AltTab E135

APS Power F114

APT WATER F134

AQUA FLOW D130

Aquip Systems D107

ATTAR F122

Aury Australia E125

AUSTDAC G121

Australian Institute of Company Directors A130

Australian Mining ReviewE112

Automation Group F128

Backsafe Australia A116

Battery Rescue B121

Biosecurity Services AustraliaF132

Blackwoods H119

Bray Controls Pacific E136

Brooks Equipment SalesF135

C.R. Kennedy Survey SolutionsD129

CCIWA C121

Central Innovation C110

Chironix H105

CleanSpace Technology D121

Coates G119

Cody Corporation C116

Coerco E118

Control Systems TechnologyG115

CORE Innovation Hub H12

CRC Industries (Australia) H109

DALLCON D122

Denver Technology G131 Department 13 G112

Deswik Mining ConsultantsC125

Doolans Heavy Haulage G132

Dredge Robotics H111

Earthlok C130

Earthtrack Mine SuppliesB120

COMPANY NAME STAND

Electromek D115

Elite Structures Australia (ESA)F133 Emerson B123

Epiroc Australia G109 E-Plas P/L E120

ERA Group/Sustainext C122

Fleet Complete AustraliaF113

Flir Systems Australia E114 Fluid Power and Valve AustraliaH115

Forest Grove H123

FPIB (Fire Protection Industry Board) C106

Goldfields Auto Spares B117

Grace Records Management (Australia) C104

Harcor H101

Hawk Measurement SystemsE108 Healius Limited C108

ICAM Australia F120

I-care Australasia E121

IFM Efector G105 IMMS H130

Integratek E129

IPD Industrial Products F105

Koormal Contracting A120

Landpoint Holdings A125

Lincom Group E128

Lokring Australia & New ZealandB116

Mammoth Equipment & Exhausts H125

Martin Engineering AustraliaC101

Materials Management Group (MMG) C131

Maxim Maintenance SolutionsH131 MOTION F101

National Corporate TrainingF111

National Fumigants A125

Objective 3D C114

One Advanced D114

and

WATT Torque & Porta PowerH114 Western Engineering and Inspection Services

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