Director's Welcome - August 2024

As you might have guessed from our name, we spend a lot of time thinking about sustainable minerals and what that means. 

This edition of the newsletter will present a variety of the ways in which we are making a difference in this area, and I hope you enjoy it.

Since our last newsletter the SMI has launched the Global Centre for Mineral Security (GCMS), led by Professor Daniel Franks. The GCMS is an outgrowth of the Development Minerals program and has as its central focus the sufficient and affordable access by all people to the minerals necessary for human development.

The Centre has also been bolstered by the recent announcement of a prestigious four-year ARC Future Fellowship for Professor Daniel Franks, for a project aimed at developing the knowledge and understanding required to allow the potential inclusion of mineral security within the revised Sustainable Development Goals. Congratulations Daniel!

The SMI’s global role has also been highlighted through the work of Drs Lynda Lawson and Kathryn Sturman who led a three-month Australia Africa Awards course for middle and senior management personnel from 17 African countries. The aim of the course is to provide attendees with the tools to increase their ability to make an impact in their home countries and communities.

A program focused on Dust and Respiratory Health led by the Minerals Industry Safety and Health Centre (MISHC) has been making a positive impact for several years and recently received a third round of funding from the Queensland Government. The project, led by Nikky LaBranche, is focused on improving return to work pathways for workers affected by dust lung diseases.

Part of the SMI’s role in sustainable minerals is to contribute to public debate and discussion around the role of resources in future global sustainability.

• Since our last newsletter, CSRM Director Professor Deanna Kemp and Dr John Burton have published an article in The Conversation that highlights the fact that some of Australia’s most disadvantaged areas host a large proportion of our critical minerals. The article summarises the risks associated with this situation, and also proposes some sensible ways to mitigate those risks (https://theconversation.com/a-rush-on-critical-minerals-is-coming-for-our-most-remote-and-disadvantaged-communities-230768).
• In Chile, SMI ICE Chile Executive Director Dr Doug Aitken provided a plenary address to a nationally televised forum on “Echoes of Mining” that included the executive leadership of most of Chile’s major mining groups. The address and forum have been online for a week or so now and have received nearly 500,000 views! You can read more about the event in the newsletter.

What I have described above is only scratching the surface, and I hope you get even more from the rest of the newsletter. As always, we would love to hear from you.