With only three days left until early bird tickets close on 19 August, excitement is building for the WA Mining Conference and Exhibition’s speakers and presenters, plus the industry engineers and professionals already registered to attend.
Held over two days at the Perth Conference and Exhibition Centre, the conference will bring together more than 40 speakers, including conference chair Ric Gros and tech trailblazer Sarah Coleman, CEO of idoba.
The conference’s themes cover critical minerals, digital and autonomous systems, decarbonisation and ESG, and an industry outlook, presented by leaders in government, research, the Minerals Council of Australia and the private sector.
Mr Gros said it’s an honour to chair the conference, which highlights some of the biggest challenges facing the mining industry in Western Australia and across the country.
“WA Mining is an important milestone for the state’s resources sector, as it’s never been more important to share our knowledge for a successful future. We’re in an exciting place post-COVID – while there are certainly difficult things to contemplate like digital risk and the rising importance of ESG, there’s also the bright potential of technology, data science and new research to illuminate the way forward.”
Ms Coleman is looking forward to presenting on the innovation opportunities for the industry. She said the conference and idoba’s goals are remarkably similar: bringing together technology, process and people to co-create sustainable solutions for a better future.
“The world is fast changing and increasingly more turbulent. The problems and challenges we are facing have too many variables to consider and we’re finding ourselves, our systems and our traditional problem-solving approaches ineffective in dealing with the depth of these complexities,” Ms Coleman said.
“Change is no longer a choice for industries, especially mining – an industry already grappling with the disappointment of digital evolution, while simultaneously navigating the revolution drive by fundamental societal and market shifts across Environment, Social and Governance.
“Events like the WA Mining Conference and Exhibition valuable opportunities for us to come together, because no one individual or organisation has the solution to address these complex problems. It takes diverse perspectives and skills to challenge the status quo, break down the traditional ways of thinking and the outdated approach to hierarchies so that we can make sense of the issues and adaptively respond to them.”
Other presenters and panellists include:
- Hon Bill Johnston MLA, WA Minister for Mines and Petroleum, Energy, Corrective Services and Industrial Relations
- Dr Ross Lambie, Chief Economist, Minerals Council of Australia
- Dr Aloke Phatak, Associate Director, ARC Centre for Transforming Maintenance through Data Science
- Dr Jacqui Coombes, CEO, Amira Global
- Marnie Pascoe, Chief Advisor Major Hazards, Rio Tinto
- Michelle Ash, Technology Executive Lead, Oz Minerals
- Dr Jacques Eksteen, Chief Operating Officer and Research Director, Future Battery Industries CRC
- Talitha Santini, Director, University of Western Australia Mining Innovation Network
- Alex Jenkins, Director, WA Data Science Innovation Hub
While the WA Mining Conference is a paid ticket, the accompanying exhibition is free to attend, and complements the conference’s focus on technology and digital solutions across the mining value chain.
Suppliers in tech and digital will show their latest and greatest technology, with over 100 exhibitors on display, plus technology demonstrations and roundtable workshop sessions.
Early bird tickets close this week, on 19 August. To register, visit waminingexpo.com.au.