The Rock Wrangler - The Rock Wrangler

Mining powers up for a battery-fuelled future as experts say success now depends on smart data, skilled people and the courage to rethink operations

There’s a moment in every technological revolution when optimism meets reality - when the glossy promise of transformation hits the grit of practical deployment.

By Jamie Wade on October 10, 2025
Efficiency, Production Optimisation, Process Improvement, Equipment Maintenance, ESG, Education and Training Initiatives, Sustainable Practices, Long-term Planning, Workforce, Training and Development, Health and Well-being Programs, Innovation, Technology Adoption, Process Innovation, Collaboration with Research Institutions, Risk, Risk Assessment, Risk Mitigation
Australia, North America, Canada, British Columbia
Lithium, Base Metals, Copper, Nickel, Cobalt, Energy Minerals, Strategic Minerals

Rage Against the Machine Learning urges mining safety pros to trade red tape for real tech wins and claim their seat at the innovation table

AI and automation might reshape the future of mining safety, but Cam Stevens argues the real risk is leaving safety professionals out of the conversation.

Reliability centred maintenance turns breakdowns into breakthroughs at Ashton Coal proving maintenance is more than cost it is opportunity

When Barry McKay walked into Ashton Coal and saw machines cutting stone instead of coal, he knew something had to change.

When safety paperwork piles up but safety doesn’t improve, cutting clutter could be the smartest move mining can make

It’s a hard truth that mining professionals might not want to hear: much of what we call safety work - the forms, the checklists, the risk matrices, the “take fives”- doesn’t actually keep people safe.

Safety theatre on the coalface: Why contractor risk management in Qld mining is all checklist, no control, and putting lives on the line

Contractor safety in Queensland’s coal sector isn’t just flawed—it’s dangerously broken, and one veteran risk expert is calling time on the whole system.

Tailings are forever so let’s talk about the people who live with them and why mining needs memory systems as enduring as the waste it leaves behind

At the AusIMM Life of Mine - Mine Waste and Tailings 2025 conference in Brisbane, Professor Deanna Kemp delivered a keynote address that cut to the core of one of mining’s most pressing and under-examined challenges: how tailings governance is - and isn’t - working when it comes to people.