David Byers, Interim Chief Executive, Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) notes the industry’s latest ad in its Making the Future Possible campaign, promoting the industry’s use of innovation including drone technology.
“Australia’s world-class mining workforce is the result of industry innovation, attraction of talented employees and investment in employee skills and training. Innovation is central to maintaining Australia’s comparative advantage in mining and helps drive high-value, high-wage jobs in a range of scientific and highly-skilled professional occupations.”
Drones are important to the minerals sector’s environmental, cultural heritage, safety and productivity performance including:
- conducting site environmental surveys and monitoring impacts on wildlife such as turtle nesting sites
- improving road safety by monitoring traffic, road conditions and hazards and inspecting overhead cranes, towers and roofs of tall buildings to avoid working at height
- making it faster to gather more information about mine sites, saving millions of dollars when compared with using planes for survey work
- mapping and digitally recording areas of Indigenous cultural heritage.
The Making the Future Possible campaign – which is fact-based and non-political in tone and content – outlines how the Australian minerals industry provides jobs, raises living standards and builds future opportunities for young Australians.
“The campaign also emphasises that the minerals industry is a major contributor to and driver of innovation in the Australian economy.
“Future opportunities and growth make the Australian minerals sector an exciting place to forge a career in technology and innovation.
“The minerals workforce is younger, better-paid, better-trained and has a much higher share of Indigenous employees than all-industry averages.
“Average full-time weekly pay in the mining sector is A$2,610, which is 67% higher than the all-industries average, and almost all jobs (98%) are full-time – the largest proportion of all industries.”
The ad was filmed at Rio Tinto locations including the Perth head office and Remote Operations Centre and the Mesa A site near Karratha, Western Australia.
