Eight years on and we’ve seen some important shifts happening in the Australian mining sector. Each year, the Mining Business Outlook Report aims to canvas the current outlook, challenges and opportunities across the mining industry.

This year’s Mining Business Outlook Report further reveals strong signs of revival for Australia’s mining sector and flags the emerging skills problem confronting the industry due to automation.

We spoke with WA’s Mines and Petroleum Minister, The Hon. Bill Johnston MLA, and captured his insights on the sector’s state of play.

After last year’s massive surge in sentiment among miners, the sector is capitalising on the renewed optimism sweeping the industry with companies planning to increase capital spending and add to personnel levels.

Our interviews with 50 mining leaders across key commodities, as well as an exclusive interview with Bill Johnston, yielded some key insights:

Renewed hope for the future.

The dark days of the mining downturn are well and truly over. The outlook among miners has been in positive territory in recent years, with the renewed optimism showing no signs of abating.

Miners weary of market consolidation.

Leaders are concerned about the potentially adverse financial impacts of market consolidation and M&A activity, making some companies reluctant to form new partnerships.

Automation a gamechanger.

Automation and Big Data are high on the agenda for mining leaders. There is a strong consensus that automated haulage vehicles will be the top technology influence to impact the market over the coming year.

Digital era creates skills gap.

While companies are back in the industry of hiring, the rise of automation is threatening job security. Miners are now concerned about the growing gap in the number of technical employees trained to manage future autonomous roles.

Commodity price resurgence.

Leaders are feeling bullish on the price trajectory of commodities, with more than half of mining leaders predicting an increase in pricing over the next 12 months.

Increased capital spending.

Underpinned by confidence in commodity prices, capital investment and spending are back on the priority list.

Click here to view the press release

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