Workforce
If you think the most exciting innovations in critical-minerals exploration are happening in labs or boardrooms, you might want to take another look at the drill pad.
There’s a moment in every technological revolution when optimism meets reality - when the glossy promise of transformation hits the grit of practical deployment.
Mining loves a neat correlation – tonnes per shift, dollars per ounce, emissions per unit, but as Peter Burton pointed out at AusIMM’s Critical Minerals 2025 in Perth, one thing that refuses to fit a tidy graph is safety performance.
A series of recent mine safety incidents in New South Wales and Queensland has reinforced ongoing concerns about worker safety in both underground and surface coal operations.
Unlocking up to 70 per cent faster mine planning cycles and millions in additional project value is now within reach for operations that combine centralised data systems, virtual twins and advanced optimisation engines.
When it comes to crane safety, a licence card in your wallet doesn’t necessarily mean you’re competent – and that uncomfortable truth sat at the heart of a recent presentation to the NSW Resources Regulator’s 33rd Mechanical Engineering Safety Seminar in Sydney.
The future of mining is already here - and it’s being shaped by AI systems that can think, act and integrate seamlessly with the tools you already use.
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.
When Bengalla Mining Company lost tyre fitter Quinten Moore in 2018, the tragedy forced a deep reckoning: could leadership and supervision be strengthened to ensure safer outcomes? For Bengalla, the answer was not only yes, but essential.
It’s not every day you hear about two massive shafts being sunk side by side in Australian coal country, each with its own design, equipment, and risks.
