John Fennell, ICAA’s CEO, spoke at AIMEX–Asia Pacific’s International Mining Exhibition–in Sydney on 5 September, saying the conference and accompanying exhibition is happening at a critical time for the resources sector.
Speaking before an audience that included over 25 leaders from resources, minerals processing, METS and policy sectors Mr Fennell said decarbonisation was one of the most important issues facing mining going forward, challenging the industry to innovate, collaborate and take risks.
“The world’s move to electrification has compounded supply and demand issues across industry. There are key technologies that will help us to move forward with higher operational efficiency and lower emissions, but in order to implement these technologies industry-wide we need to talk about them as an industry first.”
Mr Fennell said the resources industry’s embrace of net zero mining faces many challenges, outlining the journey the copper industry in Australia–and ICAA in particular–has followed in its Roadmap to Zero Project over the last four years
“We commenced the Roadmap to Zero Project by identifying the path forward via an overarching Roadmap in 2019 that identified 5 key emission themes of water, material movement, mineral processing, ventilation and discovery.”
“To date we have completed the first three research reports into water, material movement and mineral processing.”
“Over the past 12 months we have developed a CollaborateOre digital impact platform with Amira Global, and with support from CRC Ore, Hatch , NSW Government, the International Copper Alliance and the local members of the ICA Australia. We are delighted that this program has now reached MVP stage and is moving into the next phase of development.”
Each day of the 3-day AIMEX conference addressed a specific theme. Day 1 covered decarbonisation in mining and included panel discussions featuring leaders from METS Ignited, Australian Hydrogen Council, ISN and the International Copper Association Australia.
Day 2 covered technical innovation, with a keynote from Nathan Kirchner of Robotics Australia Group, plus panel discussions with academic experts from the University of Newcastle and UQ’s Sustainable Minerals Institute, and contributions from Accenture, CR Powered by Epiroc and Fleet Space Technologies.
The final day of the conference focused on the hot-button topic of ESG, with speakers discussing renewable integration, the circular economy, and leveraging technology.
The conference ran alongside the AIMEX exhibition, with over 250 national and international exhibitors making the 3-day event a superior platform for sourcing mining industry expertise. New features of the exhibition this year include the Transformative Technology Pavilion and the Decarbonisation Zone, further emphasising the importance of technology innovation and decarbonisation to the industry’s future.