Western Australia’s mining sector has continued to appeal to investors, ranking as the most attractive region the world for investment.
The most recent Fraser Institute Annual Survey of Mining Companies, released in April 2022, evaluated 84 jurisdictions based on responses from companies operating in the global mining industry. The State’s investment attractiveness was based on respondents claiming it performed well in the areas of geological database, security (both of these factors recorded no impact in deterring investors), political stability and trade barriers.
WA is the land of plenty for minerals, with more than 50 different minerals mined and 1000 operating mine sites. It is a world leader in mineral projects, hosting nine of the top 50 global projects, including six of the world’s 10 highest value projects. No other nation (let alone a state or region within a country) has more than one of the world’s top 10 mineral projects.
Bolstering the WA’s mining and resources industry is its ability to adopt innovative technologies, being a leader in automation, having high ethical and environmental standards and having some of the world’s largest reserves of minerals used for manufacturing rechargeable batteries such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, aluminium, rare earth metals and reserves of untapped high-quality graphite.
The mining and resources sector is the State’s largest producer of carbon emissions and has come under pressure, primarily by consumers, to reduce its carbon footprint. And, CCIWA’s Business Strategy 2023 reported that mining and resources was among the industries that are directly exposed to impacts of climate change, which if sustained can erode the value of financial assets, damage cashflows or increase organisational liabilities.
Climate change has come to the forefront of environmental and social governance (ESG) and is now seen as a must-consideration for organisations and investors in developing their business strategy. Many companies have seen this as an opportunity to transition their operations to be more climate conscious, which has increased the uptake of new, innovative practices such as powering mine sites with renewable energy, replacing company truck, digger and car fleets to be electricity-powered, and using green hydrogen to fuel mining operations.
Also high on the ESG agenda for mining and resources organisations is making work sites safer for employees. The first investment into autonomous mining was in the Pilbara in 2008 and since other mines have followed suit.
WA is a world leader in adopting autonomous mining machinery and now there are in operation 250 trucks, 40 explosive drilling rigs and five long-haul trains, including the world’s first automated heavy-haul long distance rail system. Companies have reported autonomous vehicles and equipment, which are controlled remotely from operations centres, enable staff to work less hours, have more downtime and less requirement to be in high-risk situations, along with operational benefits of reduced waste and improved efficiencies.