As the mining industry enters a new generation of sustainability and innovation, collaboration is going to be critical to achieve the best results.
In the mining industry, staying one step ahead of the game is crucial.
Miners need to predict the ebb and flow of the sector to get the most bang for their buck, but with so much changing so quickly, how can the industry keep its finger on the pulse while still ensuring their projects meet requirements?
AusIMM and UNSW’s International Future Mining Conference 2024 seeks to answer this question.
“Further worldwide advancements rely heavily on the mining industry,” conference chair and UNSW professor Serkan Saydam told Australian Mining.
“The main aim of our conference is to look at what we need to be implementing now to meet these future challenges.”
Image: AusIMM
The International Future Mining Conference has earned a reputation in the industry as the go-to event for those looking to understand the upcoming industry trends.
“We’re a forward thinking conference,” Saydam said. “And in Sydney from September 2–4, we will continue this tradition, treating attendees to the rich conference program and future-focused discussions they have come to expect.”
The 2024 iteration of the conference will focus on five themes: innovations, energy innovations, mining in extreme environments, sustainable mining, and future skills and workforce evolution.
While each theme will be an integral part of the conference program, Saydam highlighted one in particular that he is looking forward to hearing more about.
“Knowing how to operate in extreme environments is going to be key to the mining industry of the future,” he said. “Australia can already be a harsh environment to mine in, and high-quality ore deposits are only getting deeper.
“We won’t be able to reach some of these ore deposits without the help of autonomous machinery. It’s important to look at the technology we have now and identify what we might need in the future.”
Saydam said he is also excited to hear discussions centred on the mining workforce of the future.
“We had an enormous number of future workforce-related papers submitted, showing the interest of both the industry and academia,” he said.
“This is very important, because we need the next generation of mining professionals with the skills and knowledge required to navigate the emerging technological landscape of the industry.”
Along with themed discussions and abstracts, the conference will also feature several renowned professionals keen to speak to their experience in the industry.
The 2024 keynote speakers include BHP head of product development Maki Ikeda, Fleet Space Technologies chief product officer Hemant Chaurasia, and Orica Digital Solutions senior vice president Rajkumar Mathiravedu.
“The conference will be incredibly vibrant, especially considering the prominent keynote speakers we have lined up,” Saydam said.
“The way we do things at Future Mining is unique; the talks are dynamic and include panel discussions and networking opportunities instead of just having someone speak at you for 20 minutes.”
And, as Saydam said, these networking opportunities are particularly important.
“We need to get together to solve the mining industry’s challenges,” he said. “We can’t do that in isolation.”
Saydam credits his role in teaching as the reason he is such a big believer in collaborative work.
“Learning from each other in academia is important, and that can be applied to the mining industry as well,” he said.
“We need to collaborate with other disciplines who have differing points of view; only then will we be able to move forward in the industry.
“The International Future Mining Conference 2024 will be a big help with that. And of course, a couple of drinks and good food with friends never goes astray.”
The International Future Mining Conference 2024 will be held in Sydney from September 2–4
This feature appeared in the August 2024 issue of Australian Mining.
