Development Stages
After a shaky start to 2025, the Australian exploration sector appears to be tentatively turning a corner.
When reliable environmental performance data doesn’t exist, simulation can step in – and according to IGO Nova’s Zachary Hearne, it could give Australian producers a market advantage.
When global lenders assess mining projects, it is no longer enough to meet Australian legislation – financiers are demanding alignment with international ESG standards, and the gaps are costing companies time and money.
The future of Australia’s role in critical mineral supply chains may depend less on matching China’s scale and more on proving that secure, trusted supply with ESG credentials is worth paying for.
When it comes to critical minerals in emerging nations, geology is often the easy part - what makes or breaks a project is navigating the politics, markets, and risks that sit behind the orebody.
China quietly built the world’s most powerful critical minerals supply chains while other nations - including Australia - dozed through a geopolitical shift that now threatens economic security, trade independence, and defence readiness.
Sensor-based sorting is no longer just a niche preconcentration step - it’s fast becoming a critical pillar of intelligent gold processing.
Global tariffs, record gold highs, and shifting battery metal fortunes are reshaping mining in 2025, with big implications for projects and suppliers.
From the outside, the conversation around digital mining often gets framed in broad terms - automation, Information of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) but for those working underground or in control rooms, the real question is more practical: how do these tools actually solve the daily challenges?
For Stewart Johnston, Account Manager - Mine Electrification and Automation at ABB Australia, the key lies in making information usable, timely, and connected across the mining value chain.
As the mining industry edges closer to a tipping point on tailings management, a panel of global experts at the 2025 Life of Mine | Mine Waste and Tailings Conference in Brisbane issued a clear message: discipline in operations, humility in design, and a more adaptive mindset will be critical to preventing the next tailings disaster.
