The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared that diesel engine exhaust emissions cause cancer in humans and they say that diesel particulate matter (DPM) belongs in the same potentially deadly category as asbestos, arsenic and mustard gas. This has particular relevance to underground...

By Rachel K. Carson (MarCom Intern for Process Industries) Adapted from IDC Perspective: Mining Industry Transformation written by Emilie Ditton. We have been talking a lot lately about the technology aspect of digital mining transformation and the huge impact that it is making on...

2017 was yet another outstanding year for Austmine and our members, with a record number of networking events held, connections made and international visits completed, capped off by our best ever biennial Austmine conference in Perth. The Australian METS sector continues to receive greater...

The global mining industry needs fresh solutions and big ideas to thrive in the coming decades. In order to ensure that the next generation of young professionals are pushing innovation in our industry we must find new ways to engage them. Inviting the tech community to help revolutionize...

Cyber security represents a fundamental challenge for organisations and is seen as a top priority for boards. Malicious hacking, ransomware attacks, data leaks and electronic fraud are occurring on a global basis, where the motives vary from financial, political or merely to cause disruption....

This article was originally published on the Minnovare website.  At Minnovare, we believe in the power of innovation in every sector.  We live in an ever-changing world that is experiencing advancements through technology at lightning fast pace.  Perhaps, more than at any time...

Fabio Mielli, U.S. Mining, Minerals, and Metals Segment Manager, Schneider Electric As a technology enthusiast I love to try new things, whatever the latest new gadgets happens to be, and play around with them. And one of the amazing things about the current digital transformation is that...

Peter Johnson, Managing Director, Maptek The EY report Top 10 business risks facing mining and metals 2017–2018 provides insight into the state of the sector, and what will drive competitive advantage in the foreseeable future.  As Managing Director of a key player in the mining...

With 2018 upon us and the mining industry set for a busy and productive year ahead, Austmine caught up with Ian C Dunican, Principal Consultant – Health, Safety & Business Performance with ORBIZ Consulting and Director of Sleep4Performance, to find out how mining companies can keep health...

Minnovare was founded in 2013 with a desire to improve the overall productivity of exploration drilling within the mining industry. While others looked to improve productivity by focusing on what was happening down the hole, at Minnovare, the team approached the problem from a different angle;...

Contributor: Heath Baker, Executive General Manager, NSW - Engenium Pty Ltd Let’s be frank, engineering technical writing can be a daunting task – even for the most experienced engineers amongst us. As an engineer you should be able to take complex information and convey it in a way...

Blast Movement Technologies (BMT) has long been at the forefront of Australian mining innovation, specialising in unique solutions to help miners recover more ore and improve productivity. At the end of last year, they were recognised for their achievements by being rewarded with their third...

Utilizing EcoTails™, jointly developed by Goldcorp and FLSmidth, Goldcorp aim to take a large step towards reusing maximum water and eliminating wet tailings dams. Watch VP of Goldcorp explain why EcoTails is a cornerstone of their Towards Zero Water (H2Zero) initiative.   Goldcorp and...

Contributed by Bede Boyle, Director, Hi Value Strategies 2018 presents Unprecedented Opportunities in Multiple Sectors for Manufacturers and Engineering Firms to Boost Profits A group general manager told me that his 2018 business plan was Locked and Loaded for immediate action with his team...

Mining is often regarded as a “high risk” industry, also capable of delivering “high rewards” when times are good. Derisk Geomining Consultants, as the name implies, is focused on providing services that minimise technical risk and maximise the value of your most valuable asset – your mineral...

Written by Sandy Dunn, Director, Assetivity As pilot-in-command, James finished his routine scan of his instruments and then sat back.  It was a beautiful day for flying; clear, cloudless skies and no turbulence.  So far, it had been an uneventful flight, they had departed on time,...

By Gordon Quigley and Colette Munro Some years ago, we worked with a plant manager who had a clear opinion on the role equipment suppliers should play in operational decision-making. The types of equipment in this context could be anything from across the mining supply chain such as mining...

Austmine's first webinar of 2018 provided a glimpse at the year ahead for the mining & METS sectors, featuring Paul Mitchell, Global Mining & Metals Advisory Leader at EY.  Paul painted an optimistic picture of the next 12 months, with general conditions for the sector recovering....

On Tuesday 13th February, Austmine kicked off our 2018 events schedule with a bang in Brisbane. We were joined by Sharna Glover, Manager Coal Technology Partnership at BHP, who was presenting on how BHP develops and identifies technology for operational requirements and how they plan the...

A Plus Plastics' customer was looking for a cost effective and environmentally friendly solution to replace concrete walkways and roadways across its WA mining operations. This solution needed to address a number of concerns, including environmental impact of carting hundreds of tonnes of...

On 21st February 2018, Austmine was delighted to be joined by Chris Cawood, Chief Innovation Officer for OceanaGold our first Smart Mining networking event in Melbourne for 2018. The event was sponsored by Airobotics who provided an insight into how the use of automated Drones in mining is...

The market Despite modest global growth of the mining sector in recent years, Russia remains one of the largest producers of mining commodities in the world. The country has a huge geographic area rich with mineral resources. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), Russia was...

Latest news from MEC MINING: Technological innovation has blessed us with many wonderful, modern gadgets, but have you ever considered what metals and minerals are used to power them? Take the example of your mobile phone – most people are inseparable from their beloved iPhones these days...

In a previous blog post, Newtrax highlighted efforts in proximity detection systems being implemented in Goldcorp’s Éléonore mine. Despite being named, and awarded, as one of Canada’s safest mines in 2016, the proximity detection solutions implemented through a partnership with...

As the mining sector enters a phase of renewed opportunity, it is more urgent than ever for miners and explorers to assure investors and stakeholders that their Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve estimates can be trusted. Addressing delegates at a seminar at SRK’s Johannesburg office in February,...

VANCOUVER, Gekko Systems has been engaged by Canadian mining producer, New Gold Inc. (NGD), to supply technology for its New Afton copper-gold mine. New Afton’s new gravity circuit addition will consist of Gekko's largest InLine Pressure Jig (IPJ) unit - the IPJ3500 – as well as an IPJ2400...

Seeking to re-establish AMBC Dear Friends of the Australian Mongolian Business Council, My name is Claire Harrison. I am a businesswoman with links to Mongolia and Mr Bayar Purevdorj honorary consul for Mongolia in Australia. I am seeking to advance business opportunities that may benefit...

A wave of technology and advanced applications have revolutionised mining operations around the world, with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)  in particular gathering a lot of interest for their potential to harness critical information for miners. This has seen step-changes realised for...

Maintenance is a key element that influences the true success of any organization. Maintenance teams directly impact your production output by contributing to the overall uptime and reliability of your organization’s most important assets. The efforts of maintenance execution teams are not...

From an international engagement perspective, NERA is working with Austrade to have Australia’s first delegation and pavilion at Gastech in Barcelona in September. With many Austmine members supplying to the oil and gas sectors, this is an opportunity that you might like to be involved in....

AMC Consultants have enjoyed a prosperous time in the mining sector, with demand picking up once again and their international footprint spreading broadly across the globe. AMC’s Managing Director, Patrick Smith, recently sat down with Austmine to reflect on their success and discuss what lies...

Austmine’s Mining Innovation Roadshow in Newcastle featured expert speakers from both home and abroad, and we were honoured to welcome Febriany Eddy, Director & CFO at Vale to the event, coming all the way from Indonesia. Febriany is a pioneer for women in leadership and in mining, she was...

Austmine's Optimising the Mining Fleet webinar series kicked off with a discussion on Manufacturing the Future Fleet. This explored the latest advancements in mining machinery and technology, the changing landscape of METS manufacturing and insights into what the future fleet will look...

Observing many companies, we often find four big cultural barriers – complacency, low expectations, learned helplessness, and passive acceptance. So far we have discussed complacency and low expectations. These two cultural barriers come from employees’ beliefs about...

An eagle eye recently spotted Nautitech IS Lights and a Nautitech Methane System front and centre on an underground coal loader from BMA Broadmeadows. The loader was given the important task of transporting the Queen’s Baton during a leg of its journey through...

Attendees were treated to an excellent presentation from Shaun Booth, Group Manager Resource Development, Glencore on the topic of “Disruptive Technologies and Step Cost Changes.” He explored the innovations that have created dramatic transformations in mining over the years and the lessons that...

Komatsu’s aggressive expansion of its autonomous haulage system (AHS) is set to continue, 10 years after the first commercial deployment of the mining automation solution. The company, which has more than 100 driverless trucks at mines in Australia, North and South America, hopes to use its...

The Austmine Mining Innovation Roadshow took place on 16th March 2018 in Newcastle. The event featured some great speakers from companies such as Vale Indonesia, Glencore, Bengalla Mining Company and First Quantum Minerals. To wrap up the event we hosted a panel session. This featured Febriany...

An exciting new service from VIZIYA Australia offers a customised health check of your systems that will deliver world-class maintenance management, tailored to your business.  A consultant with 20+ years expertise in the design and implementation of maintenance business improvement...

Australian owned and operated engineering and electrical system solutions company Ampcontrol, welcomed Isaac Regional Councillor and Mayor, Anne Baker who officially opened their new site at 58 O’Neill St, Moranbah on March 22. Jobs and the continued investment by Ampcontrol in the Moranbah...

Two significant policy changes in India are creating new opportunities for Australian miners and mining equipment, technology and services (METS) firms. In February 2018, the Indian Government announced it would open commercial coal mining to private-sector companies, including international...

We were delighted to catch up with Daniel Serkovic, Country Manager - Peru, at Deswik to learn more about their collaborative efforts with the University Adolfo Ibáñez, being awarded the Chilean National Prize of Technologic Transfer and what their work in South American...

The year was 1992. Paul Keating was prime minister of Australia. Star Wars was a trilogy, we were using Windows 3.1, Motorola had just released the first hand held mobile phone and CSBP began using a control system software called MacroView. MacroView was developed by a small Perth team in...

Austmine recently hosted a live webinar which provided the must-know information for Australian METS when considering their intellectual property strategy.  The expert speaker Panel included:  Charles Berman, Head of Engineering Group and Partner, FB Rice Barry...

Since 2008, the RIN Awards (formerly Chairman's Awards) Night has recognised the outstanding achievements of the region’s companies over the previous twelve months. It recognises excellence in business and the significant contribution that they make to the regional economy and community. ...

Conflict minerals – those extracted in conflict zones and sold to fund the conflict – are a challenge in the mining industry and throughout the world. Time Magazine reports that international efforts to stop the sales of “blood diamonds” and other conflict minerals are facing problems....

If you sit down with someone who knows nothing at all about commercial mining, and ask whether they think the job is simple or complex, what do you think the answer will be? A few might say it’s not so hard, but the majority will err on the side of complexity. That majority — as those of us who...

You could be forgiven for assuming that innovation only happens in young or fast-moving sectors. Mature, commodity-based industries like metals hardly carry the sexy allure of, say, information tech or even automobiles. But that doesn’t mean you’d be right. To the contrary, staying competitive...

Austmine was delighted to be joined by Karl Roes, Asset Management Adviser, Glencore at our recent Mining Innovation Roadshow in Newcastle. He put together a fantastic and thought-provoking presentation that documented the success of Glencore’s Production Management Database (PMD) that was...

The second part of Austmine's Optimising the Mining Fleet webinar series explored The Advanced Fleet, incorporating discussion about automation, digitalisation of mining and advanced safety technologies.  Key topics and issues covered in the webinar:  Benefits of implementing...