AMEC Conference
THE recurring theme of this year’s Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) convention held in Perth in June was just how well the mining industry came out of the recent federal election.
“It’s a powerful indication that the work that we do, the new projects and growth that we bring is welcomed by the community,” AMEC chief executive officer Warren Pearce said in his opening address.
“It’s clear that we need an energy mix, yes renewable technologies are changing the market, however we still need a diverse energy mix going forwards and that will continue to include coal, LNG, petroleum, diesel, renewable solar, wind and hydro and battery technology and even nuclear power – there will always be a mix,” he said.
“At the very least in the medium term, as we transition towards a low carbon economy, there’s still going to be a place for all those commodities and all those projects.
“So what we’re looking for is sensible and certain energy emissions policies required from governments across Australia and we want those policies to align and to be in-step with global action.”
Mr Pearce was positive that the 2030 resources taskforce appointed last year by the Federal Government sets out a clear vision for the industry and offers a supportive and bi-partisan approach going forward that give the industry, and investors certainty in the sector.
“The battery and critical minerals revolution that is taking place now provides immense opportunities for Australia, particularly WA,” he said.
“The Australian mining industry will supply raw materials and processed materials that support new and renewable technologies.”
Mr Pearce was confident that, as the market and demand grows for lithium ion batteries and for electric vehicles plus renewable technologies like solar panels and wind turbines, the mining industry is ready to provide the raw materials to develop those products.
These sentiments were echoed by WA Mines and Petroleum, Energy and Industrial Relations Minister Bill Johnston, who said the fourth industrial revolution is under way, driving innovation across the sector.
“Here in WA we do technology in mining very well and that rapid integration of the digital and physical that is expected to bring about even more economic and industrial change,” Mr Johnston said.
“WA is really at the fulcrum of these changes. We’re the go to jurisdiction for industry solutions, technical innovation and our world class METs sector.”
The state is home to more than 350 METS companies, the Australian Resource Research Centre, the National Resource Science Precinct and the Pawsey supercomputing centre and Mr Johnston said these innovative facilities are part of the reason large mining companies have established research and development bases in Perth.
“Our emerging battery chemical processing sector is a real opportunity to produce high-quality technical grade chemicals that the world needs and we’ve got world leading research and development capacities,” he said.
“The fourth industrial revolution provides WA with a once in a lifetime opportunity to be part of something very different.
“WA has the world class skills and expertise needed to extract and process these minerals and we’ve got the strong industry regulation and high ethical standards that are expected from the new Facebook generation of consumers.”
The State Government is committed to supporting continuing investment in the sector, launching the Future Battery Industry Strategy in January.
“The future strategy supports the processing of battery materials, sustainable manufacturing of battery components, assembly of battery based energy storage systems, design of grid management software, recycling of waste at all stages of the battery value chain, reliability and safety of energy storage system and manufacturing of niche battery products,” Mr Johnston said.
“We want to take full advantage of the fourth industrial revolution to make sure that we’re well placed to exploit these opportunities.”