Mining has come out of the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic in excellent shape. Thanks to this, the industry has been able to re-evaluate its focus and identify new opportunities within the sector, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) and innovative technology has been identified as the strongest areas for growth.

PWC’s report “Mine 2021”, has highlighted some important lessons from the past 12-18 months and what this means for the future of mining. Although the report focuses on the top 40 mining companies, the lessons and opportunities identified are also relevant to all mining companies, big and small. We’ve summarised our top points from the report for you below. 

1. Move to ESG as growth focus

With the International Energy Agency predicting a significant increase in demand for critical ‘clean energy’ minerals by 2040, opportunities lie in the growth of ESG within mining.

PWC reports that mining companies should begin to embrace more definitive ESG strategies to maintain and increase the value of their businesses, expand their opportunities, and cement their reputations as significant and valuable global players. These efforts to adopt low-carbon and more transparent strategies will open new avenues for investments and capital.

2. Rethink Supply Chains

Reliable access to goods and services is paramount. By bringing suppliers close to their operations, mining companies are able to build supply chain resilience, helping to secure reliable access to goods and services.

3. Embrace Automation

In a COVID-19 world where social distancing could continue to be part of day-to-day life, technologies that reduce the number of people onsite and increase the ability to operate these mines remotely provides an incredible advantage. Along with this, automation is working to reduce the manual labour involved in some tasks to create further efficiencies.

According to the World Economic Forum, 67% of repetitive and manual tasks and about 60% of tasks involving physical labour will be automated by 2025.

4. IOT

The industry is expected to speed up its investment in the Internet of things (IOT) over the next three years, improving health and safety and staff productivity.

At Hetech we have significant experience in supplying high-quality Australian electronics manufacturing and design solutions to the mining industry. Some of our work includes partnering with CSIRO to support their Longwall automation build, and Vanadium on the design and manufacturing of an innovative means of automating spiral splitters.

We will partner with you to develop an end-to-end turnkey solution to take your mining product to market.

Contact us now to discuss further.

Catching up with our local government member was refreshing, Bert Van Manen showed a keen interest in Hetech and the current struggles affecting the business as a direct result of COVID-19, including component and skill shortages.
Hetech took the opportunity to say thank you for the ongoing support by the federal government. We appreciate it.

Innovation is critical to the Mining Equipment, Technology and Services (METS) industry and will secure the sustainable future of mining. Hetech’s Mark Steiner recognises this and the need to foster individuals who truly embrace and champion innovation.
As part of the Austmine Innovation Mentoring Program, Jake and David spent some valuable time with Mark at Hetech HQ. Mark will be mentoring them on innovation in product development, from strategy and planning to identifying opportunities to innovate.

The program is designed to shape the numerous skills required for innovators to succeed in today’s fluid market environment. The mentoring sessions will guide participants’ general understanding of innovation, including ideation, strategy, commercialisation and implementation. Personal development, career enhancement and skills growth are the major goals of the program for participants and also for our mentors.

Here’s to the next generation of innovators.

Late last week, Hetech’s Steve Plunkett joined other Defence supply companies and Commonwealth, State and Local Government agencies for a Q&A panel discussion at the Logan Defence information session.
The Hetech team are working to mentor other businesses on the Defence procurement process and during the session, attendees were given an overview of the Defence marketplace and an understanding of how the Australian Defence Force procures for projects.