COLLABORATION 'KEY' FOR SUSTAINABLE MINING FUTURE

AUSTRALIA'S NATIONAL SCIENCE AGENCY HAS CALLED FOR GREATER COLLABORATION TO DRIVE INNOVATION FOR A SUSTAINABLE CLEAN-ENERGY FUTURE.

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With demand for energy transition minerals doubling between 2019 and 2024 – and predicted to double again by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency – opportunities have never been so rife in future-proofing mining operations.

At the same time, new waves of digitisation and automation are reshaping how resources are discovered, mined and processed.

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) believes meeting this moment calls for “an accelerated approach to innovation driven by a willingness to collectively experiment, learn and adapt”.

“It [collaboration] can help us accelerate that learning curve. It can help us leverage knowledge developed by others, and it gives us the ability to stay competitive in a fast-moving space. There’s a lot of learning, a lot of iteration and experimentation required, and going it alone means we learn slower,” CSIRO director of mineral resources Louise Fisher told Australian Mining.

“We will need to make new connections and collaborate with partners we’ve not worked with before to build those new supply chains, whether that’s in critical minerals, hydrogen supply or stepping into areas like sustainable aviation fuel, where stakeholders in agriculture and energy systems must work together.”

The issue, Fisher said, is moving from conception to implementation of new ways of working as workflows may not yet allow for a shift in culture.