Nine regional METS companies are attending the Austmine 2021 Conference and Exhibition at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre this week as guests of the State Government.
Held every two years since 2005, the event has become the leading mining innovation conference in the world.
The companies' attendance was made possible by a partnership between the Western Australian Government and Austmine, the leading not-for-profit industry association for the Australian METS sector.
The McGowan Government is a committed sponsor of the event which has brought together around 1,000 key local, national and international decision makers from mining, METS, academia and government.
Innovation and ICT Minister Don Punch delivered the opening address of the conference earlier today.
Running from May 26-27, the conference will also feature speakers from a wide range of mining companies including BHP, Rio Tinto and Lynas Rare Earths, and a number of highly innovative METS companies.
Travelling to Perth from around Western Australia for the event, the nine regional companies will have the opportunity to join strategic conversations about the adoption and growth of digital mining technologies, and make new national and international contacts.
The regional companies are all members of Austmine's WA METS Digital Mining Export Hub, which was launched in September 2020 with funding from the Western Australian and Federal governments. The hub is designed to assist regional WA companies to increase their digital mining capability and access global mining markets.
As stated by Innovation and ICT Minister Don Punch:
"Earlier today at Austmine 2021, I was able to see firsthand the cutting-edge mining technology being developed in Western Australia and the homegrown innovations that are changing the industry.
"We want to make sure that geography is not a barrier to global success for our regional METS companies.
"Our partnership with Austmine is helping to ensure METS companies from across regional WA are connected to the digital mining ecosystem, and are continuing to develop the market understanding needed to maximise the opportunities offered by new global supply chains."
The nine regional METS companies attending Austmine 2021 as guests of the WA Government are:
- Target Mining Resources (Kalgoorlie);
- Wilmot Engineering (Kalgoorlie);
- HAMR Engineering (Kalgoorlie);
- RCT (Kalgoorlie);
- Integrity Engineering Solutions (Dunsborough);
- Emapper (Margaret River);
- Tan Ninety (Port Hedland);
- Karratha Earthmoving and Sand Supplies (Karratha); and
- Simcoa Operations (Bunbury).
