As a leading voice in Australia’s mineral exploration and mining industry, could you provide an update on AMEC’s current mandate?

The AMEC’s mandate comprises of three core pillars: to increase greenfield and brownfield exploration in Australia; to reduce the cost of doing business in Australia; and to streamline approvals. Essentially, we are trying to make it easy for mining companies to do business in Australia so our mineral community can be more successful.

Given the federal elections in May 2019, how has the political landscape in Western Australia (WA) changed over the last few years?

There have not been major changes in the political environment in WA. The main uncertainty was about changes in gold royalties in 2018, but these uncertainties have now been put to bed. Since then, we have had a pretty stable and certain environment in WA.

We are now well into the new project development stage, which will assist in the growth of the economy moving forward. In terms of exploration, we have seen a softer investment interest over the last six months, but we are hoping to see investment funds return to the region as there are certainly very good prospects in WA. Currently, there is a substantial amount of investment money sitting on the sidelines waiting to see what happens. For now, global trends in the mining industry and geopolitics are reasons investors are holding back funds. If investment returns in H1 2019, we believe we will see a very strong recovery for the junior companies as well. WA has been doing well for a while, and we expect investor funds to return to the market quite soon.

WA is going to be the lithium hub of the world very soon, but value-add in the mining industry has not been a priority in Australia. Are you noticing a shift in approach to this?

Value adding has been a major concern for Australia over the past few years. We have not yet been able to successfully add value and realize greater value from our minerals. There is now a new industry arriving, and Australia has another shot. We have the materials required to add value in the lithium industry, and there is a significant opportunity for us to then expand our value adding capabilities across a wider range of minerals. AMEC is working hard to help our members move into the processing space, but the challenge is that high-tech industries tends to be built around very well-guarded intellectual property – especially around chemical processing for lithium iron batteries. In order for our members to enter this sector, they either have to develop the technical intellectual property themselves or partner with a company that already has the knowledge. What is happening at the moment is pretty exciting and the aim is to set up a value chain to utilise our minerals to their full potential.  The emphasis on value-chain development will also allow for the increase of investor interest into the region.  

How will the EPA’s decision to withdraw the revised assessment guidelines impact the mining industry?

It was pleasing to see the WA government stepping in to ensure that the policy was pulled. We feel reassured that the state government is supporting the mining industry in WA. We are also hopeful that a consultation with industry over the next 12 months will deliver an outcome that provides a better environmental framework that will also allow the industry to grow.

What are AMEC’s key objectives for 2019?

For a long time, AMEC has been advocating for policies to support greater exploration in WA. In 2018, we got to a point where a 2030 task force was created to make recommendations, relating to the mining industry, over the next 10 years. The government has put policies in place based on previously made recommendations, and we expect these policies to be fruitful for the industry. For the remainder of 2019, AMEC will focus on increasing exploration projects in Australia and creating a favorable mining environment.