Australia’s science and research priorities: conversation starter

To: Department of Industry, Science and Resources
Re: Australia’s National Science and Research Priorities
6 April 2023

Introduction

AMEC appreciates the opportunity to provide a submission to this consultation, to inform a new statement for Australia’s science priorities. A refresh of Australia’s national science and research priorities, when aptly positioned, can streamline opportunities for Australian minerals projects across the value chain.

About AMEC

The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) is a national industry association representing over 540 member companies across Australia. Our members are mineral explorers, emerging miners, producers, and a wide range of businesses working in and for the industry.
Collectively, AMEC’s member companies account for over $100 billion of the mineral exploration and mining sector’s capital value.

Mineral exploration and mining make a critical contribution to Australia’s economy, directly employing over 274,000 people. In 2020/21 Industry generated a record high $301 billion in mining exports, invested $3.2 billion in exploration expenditure to discover the mines of the future, and collectively paid over $43.2 billion in royalties and taxes.

Australia’s National Science and Research Priorities
General Comments

AMEC welcomes the development of a new National Science Statement and Research Priorities, due for finalisation in September 2023. With a range of Commonwealth Government consultations currently underway including the National Critical Minerals Strategy, Powering the Regions Fund, and
National Reconstruction Fund, all seeking to enable the sustainable development of Australia’s base and critical minerals sector to meet increasing global demand, it is imperative we have the scientific and research excellence to align with these national priorities and anticipated future growth.

A highly skilled current and future workforce, with a forward-looking approach to evolving research challenges, can position Australia to capture emerging opportunities for our minerals sector, ahead of the curve.
Revitalising the Priorities and Statement

Since the publication of the most recent national priorities in 2015, the global and domestic environment has undergone substantial developments, not least of which included a global health pandemic. All these crises and trends underpinned two primary needs, which the Commonwealth is seeking to rapidly address; the need for a swift transition to a decarbonised economy, and the need for supply chain security. The role of Australia’s minerals sector in supporting the ongoing delivery and maintenance of these objectives, cannot be understated.

There is a strong need for Government and industry collaboration to debunk the myth that mining leads to negative environmental outcomes. In one of the most stringently regulated jurisdictions across the globe, Australia’s mineral exploration and mining sector complies with environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards via robust Commonwealth, State and / or Territory legislative, regulatory and policy frameworks, prior to even commencing basic mineral exploration activity. There is significant opportunity to ensure this message is well understood, as the role of mining in meeting decarbonisation targets, will be paramount.

Challenges that science could help address

All mines began with mineral exploration. Greenfield exploration is critical to finding the mines of the future. Exploring areas that have previously not been explored, is also inherently riskier than brownfield exploration. It is a multi-year, and typically multi-company effort to develop a greenfield exploration discovery from a geological discovery to a producing mine. With discoveries being made at greater depth, the cost to make these discoveries, and the associated extraction and processing pathways, are increasing cost and risk to junior, typically reliant on public capital raising via the ASX, mineral exploration companies. In the last decade, over 75% of Australia’s economic discoveries have been made by small ASX listed exploration companies 1.

There are two, ultimately scientific, challenges for modern mineral exploration: find economic deposits that are deeper and under thicker cover; and do so with the least amount of ground disturbance possible.

1Minex Consulting, Recent Trends in the Australian Junior Sector, Slide 19, https://minexconsulting.com/recent-trends-in-the-the-australian-junior-sector/

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Source: Minex Consulting, The Challenges and opportunities for making discoveries under cover,
Slide 312

As can be seen in the above table the trend for discoveries of economic deposits of gold and base metals has increased in both Canada and Australia, the two major global mining jurisdictions.

The above trend correlates with further analysis of data from all the Geological Surveys’ drilling datasets, each decade the average drill hole in Australia grows by 15metres in length. In 2021, the average drill hole was 74 meters3.

Australia needs to prioritise applied research into the discovery process and make that information publicly available. As discussed, most mineral exploration is undertaken by small mineral exploration companies who do not have the capacity to finance their own research and development.

As land access becomes more contested, making a discovery with minimal ground becomes a greater advantage. There have been step change improvements in geophysics and geochemistry to heighten their accuracy over the last fifty years. Investing in those two sciences to accelerate the refinement of their precision to allow greater targeting of drilling would be beneficial for mineral exploration.

There is ample opportunity for scientific developments to streamline the rate of discovery, and the timeframes to develop minerals projects into producing mines. Automation, cyber technologies and data are expected to play an even greater role in the geological, chemical and metallurgical aspects of the minerals sector. Understanding the opportunities, uses for, and how we can more rapidly implement these advancements into our operations, will undoubtedly better-position Australia’s mineral explorers

2https://minexconsulting.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/KEGS-Breakfast-talk-3-March-2020c.pdf
3Minex Consulting, Overview of the Australian Drilling market, Slide 25, https://minexconsulting.com/overview-of-the-australian-drilling-market/

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to be more cost-competitive, as existing mineral resources are being depleted at a faster rate than new discoveries are being made.

A greater scientific knowledge across regulatory agencies, from environmental, to climate, to geological, to hydrogeological, can inform and enable timely and efficient risk-based regulatory processes.
Streamlined approvals functions are a significant opportunity for scientific excellence to address.
Increased expertise can enable a more agile response to emerging opportunities in the critical minerals sector, to align with the objectives of Government’s Critical Minerals focus.

There is also a significant role for science and research to inform decarbonisation technologies and a transition to net zero, that enables the minerals industry to continue exploring opportunities across the value chain, both upstream and downstream. With increasing need for battery minerals, critical and base minerals, the processing of these mineral components, their tailings and waste functions, must be understood, to enable compliance with legal requirements, as well as the upkeep of best practice environmental standards.

An opportunity we should seize

Australia hosts the critical minerals required to meet decarbonisation targets. There remains however, a substantial amount of research and scientific knowledge that is yet to be explored, as to the extent of their application, uses, and extraction methodologies.

The mining sector is renowned for its innovation and constant developments. There is ample opportunity to align research priorities with strategic objectives of the Commonwealth, State and
Territory Governments, to become a critical minerals powerhouse. The new Strategy should support the currently being consulted on national Critical Minerals Strategy, and the opportunities to leverage
Australia’s excellence to date in ores, to expand into diversified uses for critical minerals.

As demand for these minerals continues to increase, academic excellence will also be required to consider new and alternative uses, geological anomalies, scientific developments, and education of emerging entrants. There is a strong need for a pragmatic relationship between academia and industry, to deliver optimal, real-time and forward-looking outcomes to maximise benefits.

A commercial understanding of key decision points relevant to the mineral exploration to mining development cycle can inform a strategic view of current and emerging market trends, presenting opportunities for Australia’s minerals sector, to inform research and scientific priority reviews at regular intervals.

There is an opportunity to increase the diversity and representation of under-represented cohorts in the sector, by promoting opportunities in STEM, as we continue to embrace technological and scientific developments. A refreshed national science and research priority strategy can attract more entrants to leading STEM sectors, and provide long-term career and development opportunities.

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Strengths we should maintain or build

Australia has a long and successful history as a mining nation for traditional and base metals. With robust regulatory frameworks, strong ESG credentials, and a highly skilled workforce, we have the domestic expertise to drive the minerals sector into the next phase, as critical minerals soar in demand.

These strengths and attributes of the sector should be built upon, to best-position our nation as a leader, in a competitive international market. As other nations compete for critical minerals and scientific research excellence, Australia can leverage long-term excellence and experience across this sector, and a genuine path towards decarbonisation.

There is an increasing need for more domestic academic excellence in our sector and regulators, to support risk-based regulation. This will streamline approvals processes, and enable risk-based regulation to appropriately, focus on regulatory functions where measures employed are commensurate with the actual level of risk posed.

As we continue to incorporate ways to operate that reflect best practice engagement and regulatory requirements, Australia’s minerals sector will benefit from a strong national science and research excellence that provides a path forward to meet ambitious Government targets, without unintended consequences.

Final Comment

AMEC appreciates the opportunity to contribute to the refresh of Australia’s Science and Research
Priorities.

We have identified three key focuses:

▪ Challenge 1: Refining the discovery of economic deposits that are increasingly deeper and
under thicker cover ; and
▪ Challenge 2: Investing in geophysics and geochemistry to reduce the level of ground
disturbance necessary to make a discovery.
▪ Opportunity: Realising Australia’s critical minerals potential.

With significant changes across the Australian and global landscape, there is ample opportunity for scientific research to inform risk-based regulation, and underpin the bases of Australia’s transition to a decarbonised economy, utilising our abundance of critical minerals along the value chain.

For further information please contact:
Neil van Drunen Sam Panickar

Director, WA, NT, Director – SA & Industry Policy, AMEC

Commonwealth Policy, AMEC

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