Chinese and Australian universities collaborate with FMG on mining sector innovation
ABC NET reported that an iron ore miner and Chinese and Australian universities have formally joined forces to launch a mining and cooperation innovation research model. The collaboration is between West Australian iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group, the University of Western Australia, the WA School of Mines at Curtin University, Central South University in Changsha, and Sun Yat-San University in Guangzhou.
FMG chief executive Mr Nev Power said the company was excited by the prospect of engaging the brightest minds from China and Australia in the graduate program. He said that "We used innovative ways to develop and mine orebodies in the Pilbara [in north-west WA] that other companies considered uneconomic. That approach to innovation has been very successful for FMG, and we say our workers have two jobs.”
After founder Andrew Forrest, FMG's second-largest investor is a Chinese group, and Mr Power said fostering stronger ties with China would bring significant expertise. He said that "We will never have all the ideas ourselves within Australia. The more of these links we can build, the more collaboration between universities, the greater level of cultural understanding between countries adds to innovation and helps Australia build its business."
Professor Sam Spearing is the director of Curtin University's WA School of Mines, one of the collaborative academics. He said there was a lot of negative press around about the mining industry tanking, and little understanding of the production phase it had entered into.
Professor Spearing said innovation was changing the way the sector operated, as well as the job profiles of the future. He said that "Basically the way to make mining safe is to move people away from the working space. That means more instrumentation, more robotics, more autonomous machines, which in turn needs different skill sets. There will be a greater need for more skilled technicians, instrumentation operators, more computer science graduates, and all manner of electrical engineering types. But we'll still need the mining stalwarts such as process engineers, metallurgists, geologists, surveyors and engineers. The future jobs will change and become even more focused on high-quality, highly skilled capabilities."
METS sector ready for greater innovation
The mining and energy sectors do not exist in isolation — they may do the extraction and shipping, but they rely on a strong supply chain.
They come under the banner of METS — mining, equipment, technology and services.
METS Ignited is an industry led, government-funded department tasked with strengthening Australia's position as a mining innovation hub.
Source : ABC NET