More mining will be necessary for a greener feature. Hence, cooperation and adoption of new technologies across the industry’s entire value chain are now more critical than ever, organisers of the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) said.
According to key figures in Mining Equipment, Technology and Services, there is an urgent need for the industry to increase its uptake of sustainable technologies dramatically.
AspenTech Vice President and General Manager of Metals and Mining Jeannette McGill said mining companies risk falling behind in technological advancements.
“Technology is mandatory as it underwrites the future for mines, especially the ones mining lower grade metals. It’s these technologies that are going to allow us to mine and process more efficiently and allow us to have less impact on the environment,” McGill stated.
Some technologies are difficult to adopt at first, according to I4 Mining by Rayven Chief Commercial Officer Paul Kerkovic, but will eventually have a significant impact on productivity, safety, and meeting the demand for critical minerals vital to future energy solutions such as solar panels and wind farms.
“Competitively, it will be unavoidable, but there will also be huge environmental benefits to the adoption of this technology which consumers should understand because mining is not going anywhere. It’s a really important part of our economy, but how do we make it a more friendly part of the economy than it currently is perceived as?” Berkovic added.
According to METS Ignited General Manager Kylah Morrison, ethically-conscious consumers are one of the leading forces behind the mining industry’s transition and are now more powerful than ever due to the pressure they place on end-user manufacturers.
“You’re seeing a lot of those end users which maybe had two or three steps before the raw materials got to them, starting to have to take responsibility for what those interim steps are and make them more secure, so we’re seeing miners have a more direct relationships with end users,” Morrison said.
Additionally, mining companies worldwide must also ensure they are utilising such technologies thoughtfully instead of acting impulsively and implementing temporary fixes that may prove unworkable in the long run.
“The mining space has been at the vanguard of technology to a certain extent. It’s had self-driving vehicles and all sorts of 20-30 years now, but what is happening now is a whole lot of these new novel technologies are coming out, but they’re being adopted in a sort of a point-and-shoot manner,” Berkovic said.
With such a diverse cross-section of the mining and resources industry in attendance, IMARC Conference Director Sherene Asnasyous claims the occasion is a unique opportunity for collaboration to address changing challenges.
“IMARC will shine a spotlight on the role the METS sector is taking in driving the global energy transition, how it is bringing innovation to the exploration and development of new future-facing resources, and how it is helping balance the needs of the developed and developing world, as well as local communities and environments, in the resource transition,” she added.
IMARC gathers influential people in the mining industry, such as decision makers, mining leaders, policymakers, investors, commodity buyers, technical experts, innovators, and educators. This year’s IMARC will be held in Sydney in November.
