Three Australian mining supply companies will gain unprecedented exposure to Chile’s resources sector following their success in the innovative METStech Passport. The METStech Passport is the first of its kind between Australia and Chile, sending Australian scale-ups to Chile – and corresponding Chilean scale-ups to Australia – for a two-week immersion in the country’s mining innovation ecosystem.
METS Ignited CEO Ric Gros said the METStech Passport is a ticket to new opportunities in the LATAM region for Australian mining equipment, technology and services (METS) companies.
The successful applicants are Conveyor Products and Solutions (CPS) and Minnovare from Perth and Matrix Materials in Newcastle. The companies will fly to Chile in October for meetings and site visits with mining companies, government, industry and universities in the region.
CPS (pictured) is an established manufacturer of conveyor components, as well as a leading provider of engineered solutions in the bulk materials handling industry. CPS is developing a Distributed Drive Technology system to combat the numerous problems associated with the ever-increasing scale and capacity of conveyors. The solutions aim to disrupt the limitations of conventional conveyor design and increase project viability in both Greenfields and Brownfields applications.
Minnovare’s Production Optimiser system increases drill and blast efficiency in underground hard rock mining. It provides a highly accurate and reliable underground blast hole drilling solution that allows drill and blast engineers increased design freedom and increased confidence that their designed blast will produce the results expected, namely; maximum ore recovery with minimal dilution.
Matrix technology offers the opportunity to achieve sustainable development of transport infrastructure and enhance their commercial advantage in designing resilient transport systems. Mining waste streams can be used as a low-cost construction material, avoiding disposal and landfill costs fulfilling waste stewardship goals and improving the mining industries social license through the direct, visible benefits to communities. The technology is both a waste recycling offering and an innovative infrastructure construction technology which promotes global sustainability objectives, provides substantial financial and environmental benefits for transport infrastructure, and enables the mining industry to participate in the circular economy.
“These organisations have developed innovative solutions for challenges in the mining sector,” Gros said. “The METS Tech Passport will provide CPS, Matrix Materials and Minnovare with an opportunity to showcase their technology and innovation directly to the Chilean mining industry. Access to this mining heavyweight will enable Australian METS companies – already seen as global leaders in Chile on price, technology and productivity – a pathway for market expansion and collaboration.”
The international exchange program is a joint initiative between METS Ignited, the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade), and Fundacion Chile’s Open Innovation program, Expande.
Austrade Senior Trade Commissioner for LATAM Shannon Powell also congratulated the Australian companies on their success. “METSTech Passport has enabled us to connect two global mining powerhouses with similar challenges, in the mining technology space. Congratulations to the winners, the program is a great opportunity for exposure to a potent export market for Australian METS companies.”
Executive Director of EXPANDE Enrique Molina said collaboration was key for strengthening the sector. “Collaboration and a systemic view among the different actors of the mining industry at an international level are decisive for the development of a much more productive and competitive sector.”
METStech Passport Project Leader Patricio Pastorelli said the exchange program was a positive initiative for the sector. “Expande has seen a great potential for synergy between both METS ecosystem and the Passport program aims to ignite a relationship based on collaboration that actively contribute to the development of a global mining innovation hub between Australia and Chile.”
The companies will finish the program at the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) in Melbourne on November 1 2018.