For the first time in its 60-year history, Australia is hosting the World Mining Congress (WMC 2023) in Brisbane in June.
It’s the Olympics of the global mining and resources industry.
After two years of delays due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, WMC 2023 is set to see the sunshine city welcome delegates from around the world.
We talk to World Mining Congress 2023 Chair and CSIRO Research Program Director for Sustainable Mining Technologies, Dr Hua Guo, to find out what to expect from this year’s event.
We are welcoming more than 2,000 delegates from the world’s mining nations and regions with representative from Australia, Asia, Europe, North and South America, and Africa.
Mining experts from around the globe will converge in Brisbane to share the latest research and technological developments in mining and resources.
The event brings together extraction companies, suppliers, technology providers, researchers and consultants presenting a unique opportunity to meet, to discuss current challenges and to build new partnerships and relationships.
And Brisbane is a fitting host city for the event. It is a key mining research hub and home to world-class universities and research organisations.
Brisbane is a centre of excellence for mining and energy technologies, with a focus on coal and metalliferous mining research.
This is the first time WMC has been held in Australia.
As a nation with a significant amount of mining activity, it is a great opportunity to showcase the ingenuity and opportunities Australia has to offer.
Australia not only has abundant minerals and energy resources but also world class expertise in exploration, extraction and processing.
Australia is a top 5 producer for every key major mineral.
Many of the world’s largest mining companies, such as BHP and Fortescue Metals, have their origins in Australia.
We have a strong reputation as a leading industrialised country supplying a wide range of minerals, energy and mining services to the global market.
WMC 2023 presents a unique opportunity for international representatives of the world’s leading resource economies to meet, find new partners, discuss current challenges, and share the latest research, technology and best practice.
The Congress provides a great opportunity for Australian mine operators, researchers, service providers, and investors across the world to get together and connect for collaboration and innovation
The Program includes 15 plenary speakers and over 300 technical discussions segmented through the 13 core streams and 3 symposia, as well as 15,000 square metres of the exhibition.
The Congress will focus on the theme of Resourcing Tomorrow: Creating Value for Society.
It will examine the world’s future economic and social dependence on resources considering issues on environmental sustainability, climate change, digital transformation, disruptive technologies, and our future workforce.
WMC 2023 is taking place at a critical time as countries realise the challenge they face in meeting their commitments to net-zero emissions by 2050, while the global push for sustainability intensifies.
This challenge presents a huge opportunity for Australia as a mineral and energy resource superpower.
While global demand for critical minerals is increasing, global supply is uncertain due to the market, technical and commercial risks of critical minerals projects.
Countries are increasingly seeking access to reliable, secure and resilient supplies of the critical minerals they need.
Australia’s large critical minerals reserves, technical expertise and track record as a reliable and responsible supplier mean the sector can respond to market demand.
The Congress will highlight Australia at the centre of meeting the growing global demand for critical minerals in a sustainable way.
CSIRO is Australia’s national science agency and one of the largest and most diverse research agencies in the world.
CSIRO’s position as an innovation catalyst, working at the intersection of industry, academia, and government, gave the organisation a leading edge in its bid to host the event.
CSIRO has invested decades of research across the minerals value chain to unlock maximum value from Australia’s natural resource endowment and improve social and environmental performance in mining.
CSIRO’s goals are aligned with global objectives to resource a global energy transformation to meet decarbonation and net-zero emissions targets.
By hosting WMC 2023, CSIRO continues to play a role in shaping the sustainable future of mining and contribute to the national security and economic prosperity of Australia and the Indo-Pacific region.
