WA Mining Conference set to explore a vision for the future

But can the growth continue and what will the next 10 years look like for all aspects of the sector including the introduction of new technologies, commodities and energy sources that have until recently been left untapped?

Accelerating WA's Mining Future to 2030 is the central theme surrounding the inaugural WA Mining Conference and Exhibition, which will be held at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre on Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16 October.

More than 90% of places have already been filled for the 2 day conference which has an impressive line-up of speakers featuring mining decision-makers, technology experts and industry leaders.

Western Australian Minister for Mines and Petroleum Bill Johnston will be the keynote speaker for day two of WA Mining and he will look at the unique opportunities and future vision for the resources industry in the state.

“For 2018-19, there was a record number of people employed in Western Australia’s mining sector, and a AUS$30 billion increase in mineral and petroleum sales compared to the previous year," Johnston explained.

“Building on this industry growth not only requires a vision for the future, but also the necessary planning and investment from industry and government to make that vision a reality.

“The opportunities to transform the industry really are immense during what is being called the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’.

As well as keynote addresses and panel discussions, each day of the conference will be broken into two streams focussing on strategic and technical factors impacting mining by 2030.

The strategic stream will include; Steven Walsh a Partner at Deloitte who will examine what the mining value chain might look like in 2030, Dermot Costello a WA Regional Advisor with the Clean Energy Council will discuss the role of renewables and their integration into the mining sector and Adrian Griffin, CEO, Lithium Australia will look at the impact of new mineral demand on industry and infrastructure needs.

Across the technical stream George McCullough the Strategy Director for Interlate will discuss transitioning to the future of remote monitoring in 2030 remote operation technology and how this will impact the set up for the future, Paul Lucey, CEO of Project 412, will look at the automation and robotics future of an autonomous mine and Melinda Hodkiewicz, BHP Billiton Fellow for Engineering for Remote Operations at University of Western Australia will look at the future of transforming maintenance through data science.

WA Mining Director Brandon Ward said the inaugural WA Mining conference has received widespread interest and he is encouraged by registrations leading up to the event.

"WA Mining has put together an impressive list of leading experts granting unique insights into what will drive the industry forward over the next ten years and mining professionals have seized on this opportunity which no other event in WA can offer," Ward said.

"We are also delighted that conference delegates will have the chance to source the latest products and services at our targeted supplier showcase during the 2 days, providing the opportunity to not only hear about WA mining's future but touch and feel it first hand."

WA Mining will take place on 15 - 16 October 2019 at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre with doors opening at 9am on both days.

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/mining/11102019/wa-mining-conference-set-to-explore-a-vision-for-the-future/