Day 2 event wrap: World Mining Congress 2023
Key members of our team were delighted to join Australian and international mining industry leaders at the 26th World Mining Congress 2023 (WMC23) in Brisbane. It’s the first time Australia has staged the triennial event, and it’s due to the efforts of Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO in hosting a jam-packed four-day program. The theme of the congress is “Resourcing Tomorrow - Creating Value for Society” setting the tone as future-thinking and as innovative as we know our Australian mining industry to be.
We were there to hear leaders discuss current challenges, and share the latest research, technology and best practice; the second day of WMC23 extended the already-information rich opportunities to connect with industry.
We had the opportunity to meet with inspiring leaders and asked them to tell us their challenges in the mining industry. Read on for their quotes.
Suzy Urbaniak - CoRE Lead,
CoRE Learning Foundation
"The theme Resourcing Tomorrow - Creating Value for Society lies in our students who are now sitting in our classrooms. They are our future miners, they are our future leaders in our mining industry. It's a long-term investment. Education is a lifelong journey.”
“We don't only create awareness about the earth's resources, we provide them with engaging learning strategies to experience their learning in a real-world context and ultimately be connected to careers. We empower educators to empower their students. This is what we call STEM (science, technology, engineering, maths) learning and we have a legacy of plus 15 years and we can now proudly say we have an alumni working in the industry, whether they are geologists or drillers or lawyers, our investment is meaningful, and it gives kids hope, and most importantly a direction to carry their capability and passions into the resources industry."
Tom Palmer - President and Chief Executive Officer,
Newmont Corporation
“The exponential acceleration of technological change, particularly in artificial intelligence and long language models… requires that we temper these game-changing technologies with tried-and-true human wisdom and robust social process… translated into people-centric, values-based decisions to responsibly govern and harness these transformational digital innovations.”
“Automation is helping us mitigate safety risks, reduce emissions and improve efficiencies. Specifically, autonomous vehicles, automated drilling, remote operations, and asset monitoring are critical to how we mine today and, even more so, in the future… At Newmont, we are using artificial intelligence algorithms and machine learning to monitor air and water quality, as well as the condition of wildlife and other natural resources… We must prepare our businesses and our workforces to responsibly navigate these technological opportunities and threats by anchoring ourselves in our core values so that we can all make moral and people-centric decisions in fast-moving and complex situations either driven or exacerbated by technology.”
Martín Pérez de Solay, Managing Director & CEO, Allkem Limited
"People are key ... we need to have the resources, and we need to have the ability to transform those resources ... If not we will not be able to meet our targets to beat climate change ... incorporating a full licence to operate ... the key here is to understand the different expectations of your stakeholders ... nobody wants a sustainable electric vehicle made from unsustainable critical minerals ... we work with First Nations communities in every place we operate in around the world and we focus on three values - respect, gratitude, and humility ... we have a lot more to learn than we have to teach ... the market is being transformed by a singular objective - beating climate change."
Sinead Kaufman - Chief Executive Minerals,
Rio Tinto
“We have some amazing people in our business … and those people are the core of what makes the business successful and they are diverse and come from all walks of life … it’s a very different future to the last 150 years of the business … and we’re very clear on what we need to contribute to that.”
Check out the videos we took from our visit to the exhibition hall. The robot dog and Pit to Port pod ride were the most popular experiences on offer, and we’re guessing it’s because they show off emerging technology in action.