Thinking Different about ‘Life of Mine'

Once again AusIMM have hosted a stimulating and thought provoking #LOM2023 event for industry professionals. Thank you.

For those who are following enviroMETS Qld you will know it is seeking to?‘find innovative and sustainable higher value uses for post mining land’.?The recent announcements demonstrate why and how that will be achieved. So stay tuned for more.

Meanwhile, we thought to step outside and apply our business experience with some?deliberately challenging thoughts?that came to us via papers and discussions at ‘Life of Mine’.

A 500-year obligation is irrational

It seems irrational that regulations are looking to hold mining responsible for the environment for 500 years, or 1,000, or longer. What will 500 years look like? You get an idea research Google “Significant geopolitical events and technology developments in past 500 years?” (Spoiler; in the 1500s we believed the Sun revolved around the Earth, and Christopher Columbus had just "sailed the ocean blue"). Now flip those ideas forward 500 years.?

Accumulation of balance sheet liabilities is an existential risk

As much as mining industry operators are committed to rehabilitation, their corporate financial analysts are in deep thought about to prevent their balance sheet filling with contingent liabilities.?These liabilities, or service costs, threaten the continued existence of the company. There are no winners here.

Investor’s priority will ultimately trump goodwill

Investors top priorities are $ ROI, $ ROI & $ ROI. When it comes to survival, high ESG performance and company brand reputation can only carry so much weight. Last Friday’s Fin Review article concerning a Whitehaven shareholder provides a clue to what drives decisions.

Distil all value into a common denominator ($)

Measuring benefits is key to evaluating ‘net best value’ options. However, many benefits are intangible and don't have clear monetary values. Culture and heritage is easy to sense but hard to measure. Quantifying intangible benefits is an imprecise process that is nevertheless essential to provide the information necessary to make strategic decisions.?

Ensure the regulatory environment offers both ‘sticks and carrots’.

Sadly, bad actors undermine opportunities for the good ones. And mostly regulatory is reactive, not proactive and comes with unintended consequences. Industry must comply with current law, even when it is delivering poor societal outcomes. If we are to achieve better, then we need new ways to test fresh ideas. A sandpit perhaps.

Invite the ‘creatives’ into our conversation.

With the industry professionals talking to themselves we are learning more detail about less matters. Mining is a temporary land use and it’s highly unlikely that those working in the industry are the one’s who’ll discover and implement the next temporary use. Only through thinking differently are we likely to have economic transformation that benefits current, and future custodians. We have an innovation ecosystem full of fresh ideas. It’s time to engage the ‘creatives’ - the crazy ones who change the world. (the Apple Ad).

Perfect is the enemy of good.

Voltaire’s famous quote applies here in many ways. With the mining industry currently presented with multiple wicked challenges, the pursuit of perfection should be revisited. Adopting fast-paced agile research could collapse timelines from years for the perfect, into months or weeks for practical stakeholder decision-making. Let’s pursue action items to work on rather than becoming fatigued with extensive consultation, or just kicking a can down the road.

We don't expect universal agreement. We like to stimulate you to take a moment to ‘Think Differently’ about the future life of mining.