Tag Archives: Jim Walker

IMARC to put spotlight on Indigenous participation in mining

The 2022 International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) is putting the spotlight on Indigenous participation within the sector through multiple partnerships, opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander industry leaders, and a panel discussion dedicated to First Nations people working in the field at the ICC Sydney from November 2 to 4.

Several influential leaders will discuss the importance of Indigenous participation across the supply chain including Florence Drummond, the CEO of Indigenous Women in Mining and Resources Australia (IWIMRA). The organisation has partnered with IMARC, working to raise the profile of First Nations women and contributing to best practice solutions ensuring the visibility, voice and quality participation of Indigenous women within the sector.

“We are so excited to have a formal partnership with IMARC and it’s only now that we are starting to recognise how truly impactful it will be,” Drummond says.

“From our history of compounded disadvantage and continued systemic challenges, it is understandable that many of our people are fatigued and frustrated at yet another mechanism for change. However, we have worked hard to agree on what shared value is in this context and to deliver this significant opportunity for all stakeholders.

“Based on trust, we plan for our delegates to be a part of the conversation and to ask the hard questions so that they can be the spark or the catalyst for change back in their home.”

Also on the panel is Chair of the Cooperative Research Centre for Transformation in Mining Economies’ (CRC TiME) First Nations Advisory Team, Jim Walker, who works with the mine closure and rehabilitation firm to ensure First Nations engagement, participation and outcomes are considered in their projects.

Walker says: “We’ve got to talk about how to involve Indigenous people, especially in the context of where to mine, how to mine and the impact of the mine as it moves through its estimated useful life. There’s a lot of Indigenous knowledge that can be utilised to mitigate the impact of mines, especially at the time of mine closures. Under the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, we are ‘rightsholders’ not merely ‘stakeholders’ and as such, engagement with us as Indigenous peoples becomes mandatory.”

Walker hopes IMARC will be not only an opportunity to collaborate and advance these conversations in Australia, but to have an impact on Indigenous communities around the world.

“If we can set the scene within Australia at IMARC then international delegates will take that message back and we may see more effective and impactful Indigenous engagement and participation across the global mining industry.”

In partnership with Whitehaven Coal, IMARC is also giving First Nations mining and resources leaders complimentary passes to attend the conference, providing opportunities to network, learn and be a part of the conversations at the Australian industry’s most influential mining event.

Indigenous executives are being encouraged to nominate themselves or can be nominated by colleagues here before the Monday, 17 October deadline to be in the running to receive one of 10 full access passes that include access to the IMARC gala dinner on November 3.

Whitehaven Coal’s Executive General Manager of Corporate, Government and Community Affairs, Michael van Maanen, is enormously proud of the initiative, saying: “We need to see more engagement with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island community. It’s such a central part of the Australian economy and as an industry, given our geographic distribution across the country, we would have to be better positioned than most other sectors to really form functional, rewarding partnerships with traditional owners.”

“Last year we spent A$8.73 million ($5.5 million) with 14 local Aboriginal-run businesses in the area and that’s really significant for us because we’re a big piece of the local economy, and through procurement we’re trying to ensure diversification and help Aboriginal businesses stand on their own two feet and have access to the various opportunities that can come from having a commercial relationship with Whitehaven,” van Mannen says.

Striving to enable equal opportunity, Whitehaven Coal has surpassed their initial Indigenous employment quotas with 20% of employees at its Maules Creek site and 11% of their total workforce identifying as Indigenous.

Walker adds: “There’s no reason you can’t exceed Indigenous employment quotas and it’s only to the betterment of companies when we talk about Indigenous engagement, especially when it comes to knowledge of the land and engagement in and around repurposing mine sites to benefit Indigenous people and Australia as a whole.”

International Mining is a media sponsor of IMARC

Western Australia approves remote and autonomous operations training course

The first formal qualifications in remote and autonomous operations has been approved by regulators in Western Australia, Rio Tinto says.

This means current and future workers in the resources industry will be able to gain accreditation in remote operations for the first time. This follows a collaboration between Rio, the Western Australia Government and South Metropolitan TAFE.

A Certificate IV in Autonomous Control and Remote Operations has now been approved by the Training Accreditation Council, in Western Australia, providing students with the knowledge and skills needed to work at facilities such as Rio Tinto’s Remote Operations Centre in Perth (pictured), Rio said.

“The course is the highest-level accreditation approved to date in a partnership struck between Rio Tinto, the Western Australia Government and South Metropolitan TAFE in 2017,” the miner said. “It follows accreditation earlier this year of a Certificate II in Autonomous Workplace Operations and a micro-credential course for trade-qualified, apprentices and technicians.

About 30 Rio Tinto employees will take part in the initial pilot of the Certificate IV course, which will be delivered by South Metropolitan TAFE in 2020. The course work combines work integrated learning, giving participants the opportunity to apply the new learning and knowledge to work related scenarios in the Control Centre. Pending successful completion of the pilot, the first Certificate IV course may start in 2021.

Rio Tinto Iron Ore Chief Executive, Chris Salisbury, said: “The key to any technology is our people and that’s why training and development is so important. These qualifications will provide employees, both current and future, with the skills and training needed to thrive in our evolving industry.

“These courses give Western Australian workers the opportunity to gain modern, portable qualifications, with skills that can be used right across the resources industry.”

Rio Tinto has committed A$2 million ($1.37 million) to the development of these qualifications, according to Salisbury.

The formal qualifications “come at a critical time for the industry as we look to ensure vocational education and training programs keep pace with the rapid changes brought about by technology and innovation”, he added.

Chair of the WA Resource Industry Collaboration, Jim Walker, said: “Western Australia continues to lead the world in the development and deployment of autonomous technologies in our resources sector, with these developments creating the need for new skills and pathways from education to employment.

“The accreditation of Australia’s first nationally recognised courses in automation is significant in that it will help ensure local workers are equipped with the skills necessary for these jobs, now and into the future.”

The Resource Industry Collaboration was launched by Western Australia’s Education and Training Minister, Sue Ellery, in 2018 and includes Rio Tinto, South Metropolitan TAFE, BHP, Roy Hill, Fortescue Metals Group, Santos, Komatsu, South32, Yara, Department of Training and Workforce Development, Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science & Innovation, University of Western Australia, Scitech and the Chamber of Minerals and Energy.