Tracking the Trends– the 15th annual edition of Deloitte’s global report – explores key trends and issues facing mining and metals companies in the coming year.

Deloitte Australia Mining & Metals Leader Nicki Ivory said, “We all know that the green energy transition, here in Australia and around the world, will be a mineral-intensive one. So, it’s time for the industry to really stand up and tell its story.”

Here is what the report sees as critical:

1. Generating strategic advantage through natural capital: Mining and metals companies are beginning to detail their projects’ environmental impacts across their operations and value chains to enable an accurate valuation of natural capital in financial disclosures.
2. The role of mining in a circular economy: Operators are reconsidering their roles as metal producers and exploring how a circular economy (CE) model can help them capitalise on previously untapped value sources.
3. Supporting the decarbonisation of economies: Many operators are forming partnerships to support, or actively participate in, research and development initiatives with downstream companies to develop and accelerate cleantech.
4. Speeding successful innovation for greater value: Environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations in mining have been a catalyst for collaborative innovation, driving companies to join forces to tackle problems beyond the capability of any one organisation.
5. Securing future metals and minerals supplies: Companies are looking to AI-based predictive models that enable them to perform risk analysis, including cyber, geopolitical, and pandemic risks.
6. Using systems thinking to drive next-level operational excellence: Mining and metals companies are looking to employ systems thinking, design, and modelling to build a more integrated and holistic approach to operations that also considers the impact of new energy sources, extraction methods, and processes.
7. Solving workforce challenges through collaborative solutions: By bringing together multiple stakeholders across the mining and metals ecosystem – governance, regulators, educational entities, and private bodies – the industry can shape a multifaceted, enduring solution to talent sourcing.
8. Making workforce health and safety fit for the future: Although safety is an ongoing part of mining and metals workplace culture, companies are now including cultural and psychological safety as part of their safety cultures.
9. Using tax and reporting to change perceptions of mining: Companies are working to demonstrate their true value to society – a critical factor in changing the perception and trustworthiness of the industry. With this, they can also expect scrutiny of their tax and wider economic contributions.
10. Building an industry that thrives through change: Operators are drawing on technologies like cloud computing to help make structures, processes, and operations more dynamic and responsive to ongoing economic, social and environmental changes.

Mark S. Kuhar, editor

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