International Mining and Resources Conference + Expo (IMARC) 2022

Each year IMARC continues to grow and gain momentum and the 2022 event was certainly no exception. The 2022 event held in Sydney saw 8,094 registrants, a 22% increase from 2019 and included delegates from 109 countries with 46 of them represented at a government or ministerial level. There were nearly 8,000 meetings requested through IMARC Connect with 82.8% of attendees reporting to generate business as a result of attending.

Throughout the three-day conference, 502 speakers took part in 339 technical talks, panel discussions, interviews, and strategic keynote presentations across six concurrent conferences that covered the entire mining value chain. Digital technology and mining innovation were amongst some of the most popular sessions looking at everything from data, minerals processing, safety, and automation.

Closely followed by discussions on the energy transition including renewables, critical and future facing minerals, hydrogen and technologies for decarbonisation including electrification. The underlying theme of collaborating on trends in mining, investment and technology towards a sustainable future resonated strongly with attendees and industry. Especially emphasised by presentations from solution providers and services linking how their offerings could help with the short and long-term decarbonisation and sustainability goals of organisations across the mining value chain.

Whilst all attendees benefited from the free to attend presentation series highlighting trade and investment opportunities from around Australia, Latin America, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Africa, and Indonesia, to name a few. In addition to topical presentations relating to ESG, sustainable mining principles, social performance, mine closure and rehabilitation, creating a workforce of the future and diversity and inclusion.

Building resilience and transparency, progressing ESG and the energy transition, sustainable and collaborative solutions in digital technology and mining innovation, were just a few of the key themes highlighted. With an increase in insightful panel discussions and interviews this year, along with the return of the popular and engaging pitch battles, and the inclusion of the new Talk it Forward Dialogue Tables, IMARC was able to present ideas that will take the industry forward in various unique formats.

It is a pivotal time for the mining and resources industry as we look at significant global change and the push towards net zero. As one of the leading platforms for industry, IMARC continues to grow and adapt to our industries changing needs, IMARC is built in collaboration with Founding Partners, the Victorian Government, Austmine, AusIMM and Mines and Money.

There were many partners, speakers, sponsors, exhibitors, government delegations and visitors from all over Australia and from around the world who participated in the 9th annual International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) and the NSW Government hosted the event in Sydney for the very first time.

There were too many sponsors to list here but Industry Collaboration Partner, METS Ignited, and Plenary Partner, BHP have been part of IMARC since inception and have been strong contributors to the amazing growth you see reflected across the event. The Lead Sponsors were Capgemini, IBM, Sandvik, Ma’aden, Schneider Electric, the Victorian Government and Worley.

Anita Richards, Chief Operations Officer at BEACON said: “On behalf of the whole team, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you, our supporters, as we meet the challenges presented to us and continue to excel and do exceptional work.”

IMARC continues to bring together the whole mining and resources value chain across its conference and exhibition, something quite unique to us in Australia.

With a tranche of meetings and deals taking place between international and local ministers, ambassadors and industry heavyweights, IMARC again proved itself as the only place in Australia for the mining industry to get deals done.

The Honorary Madeline King, Australia’s Minister for Resources and Minister for Northern Australia met with a number of her international contemporaries after her presentation at IMARC. E Bandar bin Ibrahim AlKhorayef, Minister, Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also met with a number of dignitaries and local company heads and completed a signing with the ASX in fine style.

“We are enjoying speaking to so many of you post IMARC and hearing about your IMARC experience, how many of you engaged and proactively shared ideas, listened to others to help us shape the future of the minerals sector. You are truly our greatest asset today and tomorrow, and we could not accomplish what we do without your support and leadership. We look forward to seeing you back in Sydney in 2023.”

With 46 international mining ministers, High Commissioner’s and ambassadorial support from Africa, Europe, North America, South America and Asia, IMARC has firmly cemented itself as Australia’s gateway to the world’s mining and energy deal makers.

IMARC will be back in Sydney from 31 October - 2 November 2023 celebrating 10 years of IMARC!

Enaex Acquires 100% of MTi Group

Enaex, a subsidiary of Chilean business group Sigdo Koppers, acquires 100% of MTi Group’s shares, a global leader in blasting consumables for mining. The deal, completed today after a negotiation process in August 2022, was valued at A$125 million, equivalent to US$85 million.

Enaex CEO, Juan Andrés Errázuriz, highlighted that “the acquisition of MTi Group is consistent with our strategic plan to continue strengthening our international presence in the main mining regions, in order to continue providing an excellent service to our customers“.

The company has a commercial presence in Australia, South Africa, the United States, and Latin America, maintaining an essential portfolio of clients, among which the following stand out: BHP, Anglo American, Newmont, Glencore, Rio Tinto, Barrick and Vale among others.

The company has four production sites in Australia, China, The USA, and South Africa.

This acquisition follows the recent incorporation as a shareholder of O-Pitblast, a Portuguese subsidiary of Finland’s Forcit Group. O-Pitblast provides leading technology for the global mining markets.

It offers a wide range of software to optimize excavation, drilling and blasting, enabling efficient control and management of mining activities.

Global LNG Imports

In January 2023, global LNG imports fell by 1.4% (0.51 Mt) y-o-y to 36.71 Mt (Figure 63), which is the first y-o-y decline since February 2021. Similarly, global LNG imports declined by 3.4% (1.29 Mt) m-o-m.

The weaker y-o-y global imports was driven by lower LNG imports across all regions except Europe (Figure 64). Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) accounted for the bulk decline in imports.

Source: GECF Secretariat based on data from ICIS LNG Edge

Australia set to pass 100k EV milestone

New research by the Electric Vehicle Council has revealed Australia is on track to soon pass the milestone of 100,000 electric vehicles, with more than 83,000 EVs estimated to be on our roads now.

The new research, contained in the Australian Electric Vehicle Industry Recap 2022, also finds that of the 83,000, 79 per cent are battery electric vehicles (BEVs) versus 21 per cent plug-in hybrids (PHEVs).

Only 44,000 EVs were in circulation at the beginning of 2022. The new report also notes that the number of EVs purchased increased by 86 per cent in the last year, with 3.8 per of all new cars purchased being electric.

The new report also notes the number of public chargers has increased from 3,413 in 2021 to 4,943 in 2022. Fast chargers are up from 231 to 365.

TotalEnergies and Corio join forces to develop a new offshore wind project in Taiwan

TotalEnergies and Corio Generation, two of the world’s leading developers of offshore wind and renewable energies, have announced the creation of a joint venture to develop the “Formosa 3” wind farms off the coast of Taiwan.

As part of this agreement, Corio will retain a majority stake of 50% (plus 10 shares) in the project as lead developer.

The announcement comes as the Taiwan Energy Bureau confirmed in late December 2022 that Formosa 3 ‹s Haiding 2 wind farm had been awarded 600MW of grid capacity after the first phase of Taiwan›s third round of auctions. Composed of three wind farms located off Changhua County -Haiding 1, 2 and 3-, in Changhua County in western Taiwan, the Formosa 3 project received the green light from environmental authorities in 2018, for a authorized capacity of approximately 2 GW.

The development of this wind project will contribute to Taiwan’s energy transition ambition and represents a multi-billion dollar investment from project partners and financiers until construction is complete.

Future investments will be made in proportion to the partners’ participation in the project.