Diggers emphasis moves to skills and deeper drilling

- by Ross Louthean, from Diggers & Dealers 2021 Despite the insidious presence of the COVID-19 pandemic which restricted the large physical audiences in the past two years at the Diggers & Dealers Forum to West Australians only, the underlying theme was that mining for almost all commodities was strong and that exploration is producing potential new mines across Australia. Day one this year saw a strong emphasis on the need for ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) responsibility, which the media simplified to the greening of mining. However, many scribes seemed to forget that just about everything required in life requires mined products that miners need to emphasise more. As the conference advanced, so did the number of attendees and by Wednesday the delegate number had swelled by more than 200 to 2550. Climate change was also an underlying theme that continued through the 50 odd presentations over three days, but towards the end of the program two key issues for the future of mining in Australia and by Australians overseas were the need to maintain skills training and for the drills to probe deeper. The Diggers news bureau pointed out that the rapid growth of battery metals demand had produced an elephant in the room – skill shortages. However, this has been an elephant that has been around for years where young people have gone into universities rather than trades training, only to find the jobs and money was in skilled work. The news bureau said the Western Australian Chamber of Minerals and Energy said that in the next two years alone in that state there would need to be 40,000 more skilled workers. “There just isn’t a magic wand by which we can suddenly conjure up tens of thousands of West Australians with the qualifications and experience needed with the time-frame,” said chamber chief executive Paul Everingham. Director of forum sponsor Canaccord Genuity, Digby Gilmour, said while the gold sector continued to have strong support, investors were displaying more conviction that battery metal prices would continue and maintain an upward trend. Speakers for leading miners and explorers emphasised the need for drilling to go deeper for Australia to maintain a strong discovery rate. This took in De Grey Mining with its Hemi gold find in the Pilbara which won last year’s Emerging Company Award, and this year’s winner Chalice Mining which set the market alight with its palladium-platinum-rich Julimar discoverey only 70kms from Perth. Newcrest Mining, one of Australia’s biggest gold producers, made it clear that the future of discovery in Australia was the requisite to drill deeper. Its exploration director Fraser MacCorquodale said the top 200m and outcrops had been the traditional targets, but these were almost exhausted. He said companies that go deeper and under cover stood a good chance of success. The Diggers Award this year went to West African Resources for its new Sanbrado gold mine in Burkina Faso that poured its first gold in March and was set to produce 250,000 ounces per annum. The Dealers Award went to IGO for two major transactions – the acquisition of a 24.9 per cent interest in Tanqui’s lithium mine at Greenbushes in WA – the world’s largest deposit – linked to a 49 per cent stake in the Kwinana Lithium Hydroxide Refinery, and the divestment of its 30 per cent interest in the Tropicana gold project. The GJ Memorial Award went to Steve Coughlan who co-founded an internationally recognised mining services company, while the Media Award went to Australian Financial Review journalist Peter Ker. The Emerging Company award went to Chalice Mining for its spectacular palladium-platinum-rich Julimar discovery north of Perth which started a pegging rush to that region.

Diggers emphasis moves to skills and deeper drilling

Industry Queensland

Related News

QAL upgrade attracts $94m federal grant

Bridge damage under scrutiny after excavator mishap

Quick fire – industry news briefs

Get access to breaking mining news, now.