BEGINNERS GUIDE
TO MINING & RESOURCES
Australia is an international leader in mining exploration, production, and export
The mining and resources industry contributes significantly to state and national economies, through employment, GDP and taxes paid, with year on year growth. Supporting a robust minerals and exploration sector, by investing in education, good government policies, and focus on sustainability, the future of Australia’s people and environment will be in good hands.
>200k
employed in the industry
75%
of the country’s exports
$30bn
annually in taxes and royalties
>350
operating mines
#1
global reserves of iron ore and zinc
$140k
average wage
#1
global producer of lithium and iron ore
26
mineral commodities
“Everything comes from somewhere. If it didn’t grow or doesn’t flow, it was mined.” - Minerals Council of Australia
THE MINING LIFE CYCLE
PIT TO PORT PROCESSES
Exploration: on the hunt
The systematic search for mineral deposits, delineating areas with high potential for returns. By evaluating prospective targets, exploration aims to discover economically viable resources for future extraction and development. Once identified, feasibility reports are developed in consultation with government and community bodies, presented to stakeholders, and approvals and financial funding procured.
Exploration through geographic surveys, drilling, remote sensing, and sampling
Discovery of mineral deposits, followed by resource estimation and evaluation of grade
Feasibility studies assessing the technical, economic, and environmental viability
Consultation with government bodies, local community, and company board
Financing stage to raise capital funding, applying for loans, joint venture prospects, and building financial modelling
Development: let’s get this party started
Planning, establishment and construction of infrastructure required for mining operations, including pit design, mine shafts, processing plants, transportation networks, power sources, waste management and maintenance facilities. Through careful planning and execution, this project planning phase aims to optimise operational efficiency, ensure safety, and maximise the economic benefits of overall operations.
Design of entire operational engineering and infrastructure plans
Construction
from the (under)ground up, plant, buildings, waste, roads, and utilities
Commissioning system integration, testing, safety, and quality assurance
Operations: just keep rollin’, rollin’, rollin’, rollin’
These are the pit to port processes involving the extraction, processing and transportation of mineral resources from the earth to export, generatign valuable commodities for sale on global commercial markets. Various techniques and technologies are used depending on the type of deposit, such as underground or surface mining, while adhering to safety, environmental and regulatory standards.
Extraction, such as surface, open pit, strip, underground, shaft, or drift mining
Haulage and transportation of product through various operational stages
Storage and stockpiling of materials, separated by grades such as low, high, and overburden
Crushing, separation, communition, grinding and/or milling
Processing/refining through chemical, flotation, blending, screening, or smelting
Export and sale to international markets
Closure, care, and maintenance
Mining operations may cease for a number of reasons. Most commonly the reason for closure is depletion of resources to the point of loss of financial viability. At times, companies may put a mine into what is called “care and maintenance”, meaning that it may become operational again in the future. Other economic factors such as commodity prices, market demand or operating costs, or environmental and safety concerns, can also cause closure.
Transition from operations to winding down and decommissioning
Closure of site, including potential demolition
Rehabilitation of soil, vegetation and wildlife habitat
OTHER FUNCTIONS
SUPPORT & PEOPLE
Opportunities await for those willing to look deeper and try something new!
Many different professions and departments come together, creating a complex network of functions to complete mining operations from beginning to end. Organisational structures tend to differ slightly from company to company, but there’s no denying the multitude of support roles required across all stages of the mining life cycle. Here are some of the roles/functions you may come across.
Warehouse: goods in/out, tool store, consumables, purchasing
Maintenance: servicing mobile and fixed plant, breakdowns, shuts
Laboratory: processing samples, analysis, reporting
Drill & blast: explosives, fragmentation, offsider
Operators: grader, loader, water cart
Transport: rail, road, barge, conveyor
Projects: planning, engineering, administration
Environment: mitigate and measure impact, waste management
Health & safety: medical, emergency response, risk assessment
People: recruitment, HR, training, development
IT support: cyber security, document control, data governance
Commercial: market analysis, supply chain, strategy, profitability
