Evolution’s Klein expresses concern as young Australians shun mining as career option

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The mining industry has to pull together to make it an attractive career option for young people if the industry is to sustain itself, Evolution Mining chairperson Jake Klein said on Thursday, expressing concern about the low number of mining engineering enrolments and graduates at two Australian universities.

In his address to the miner’s general meeting, Klein said that the University of Western Australia was forecasting only eight students would graduate as mining engineers in 2018 and that enrolment in mining engineering at the University of New South Wales in 2017 was also only eight – the lowest level in 40 years.

“We need to compete with the allure of the likes of Facebook and Google to attract and retain the best and brightest talent back to our industry.”

Klein said the support and understanding from the general community of the importance of the mining sector to Australia’s past and future prosperity was eroding.

“It is critical for us to regain the high ground in the debate of the priorities of our country and ensure the undeniable importance of the resources sector resonates more broadly. If we do not take on this challenge, we run a very real risk that we will continue to be seen as a politically acceptable target,” Klein said, citing the proposed increase in Western Australia’s gold royalties as an example.

Australians, he said, generally were not aware of the gold industry’s contribution to the economy. Gold exports of A$4-billion in 2016 exceeded that of beef, wheat and petroleum exports combined.

The Australian gold industry has undergone a revival in recent years, and Australian gold miners are now among the world’s lowest cost producers.

“I find it remarkable that in the September 2017 quarter, Australian gold producers occupied positions one, two and three as the lowest cost producers in the world among the major and midtier producers, with Evolution proudly occupying the number one spot. This is a far cry from where Australian producers were just four years ago.”

Lowering all-in sustaining costs (AISC) remains a key focus area for Evolution. Current initiatives to improve productivity and efficiency include the investment in a float tails project at the Cowal mine, in New South Wales, which will increase gold recoveries by 4% to 6%, and the introduction of a gravity circuit at the Mt Carlton mine, in Queensland, which will increase margins by recovering up to 20 000 oz of gold on site each year, rather than producing it as a concentrate.

Evolution has an AISC target of A$820/oz to A$870/oz for 2018.

The company’s other mines include Mt Rawdon and Cracow, in Queensland, and Mungari, in Western Australia, as well as an economic interest in the Ernest Henry copper/gold mine.

CHANGE OF COO GUARD
Meanwhile, Evolution announced that Mark Le Messurier has resigned as COO after six-and-a-half years with the company. He will be succeeded by Oz Minerals’ COO Bob Fulker in February 2018.

Fulker has more than 30 years’ experience within the mining sector and has held a range of senior roles.