Remote Mining poses challenges for Australian Airlines
There’s a shift underway in the mining industry that will likely catch Australian airlines out if they aren’t paying attention – the shift toward ‘remote’ mining. Remote mining is being pushed by the automation ability across all aspects of current mining technology, which at the basic level, means that fewer humans are needed on site in mines. And that suggests a major challenge for airline companies of all sizes, who’ve come to rely on the FIFO (fly in and fly out) model of human capability delivery to mines across Australia. The technology advancements are across almost all aspects of mining operations with perhaps just one area (maintenance) still likely to need onsite human capabilities.
The non human automatic technology advances are quite stunning in their scope. Right now technolgy for remote explosives placement and detonation; extraction (digging or shovelling); loading and transportation are all on the cards or well down the patrh to development. What that means is that there’s far less requirement for truck drivers, load operators or explosive expertise in the human form.
Instead, and in much the same way as an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is controlled from some far distant shore using satellite and where needed canera technology, we can expect the mine of the future to be remote and unmanned. And if you don’t need people, you don’t need airlines which means the highly profitable regional routes that have developed over the past seven years suddenly become redundant. Planning by airlines must consider the impact of a profit stream evaporating as quickly as a pool of water in the Pilbara sunshine.
The challenge also begins to impact on the property speculators who’ve been snapping up shacks and homes in mining towns in the idea of obtaining a quick turnaround – without the onsite employees, the remote and regional housing bubble also pops, only with a bit more of a loud BANG.
The remote off site mining control starts to lower the impact of FIFO on local towns and economies where locals can’t afford to live in their own houses and food prices and other commodities spike in response to profit opportuniuties being captured by local businesses. The automated mining approach does suggest some other benefits to the Australian economy however – all those plumbing, bricklaying, electrical and other trade apprentices who left low paying entry roles will have to give up driving their mining trucks and go back to their earlier career paths. And that might see the delays in construction activity in both the commercial and domestic sectors begin to shrink as more capacity comes online.
A quick note for the history buffs among us – in this month of August fifty years ago, the first components of the Berlin Wall were constructed with rings of barbed wire severing Berlin into visually distinct west and east Berlin. Russia’s main challenge at that time was the 10,000 or so East Germans each…
Read More >Let me start by saying that my Masters of Science qualification is NOT held in economics and with that said I’m holding an interested person’s perspective toward wanting to know ‘why’ and ‘how’. I have some questions and thoughts about the theory of Supply and Demand and would be happy to have some feedback from…
Read More >Below you’ll find this afternoon’s discussion with ABC Darwin radio in which host Vicki Kerrigan chats with futurist Marcus Barber about the emerging research into lab grown meat as a potential addition to or replacement of, existing livestock farming methods. The program streamed live on 105.7 ABC Darwin this afternoon, discussing the University of…
Read More >Continuing the futures discussions on ABC Darwin Radio, this time with Paul Dale who is filling in for Vicki Kerrigan whilst Vicki is handling the breakfast time slot, we discuss some of the conference sessions at the World Futures Conference here in Vancouver You can listen to the audio stream here and cue this…
Read More >My slides from today’s presentation on ‘Getting You Future Right’ can be found at the link below To those at the session, my apologies for the technical challenges and hope these slides can provide more context for you – contact me if you have any questions. Access the Slides Here
Read More >Here’s the upload of my conversation with Vicki Kerrigan at ABC Radio Darwin. In it I offer the first three of ten steps designed to help you get your future right. In last week’s session I left Vicki with a question to ponder: Is my life headed where I want it to go, and if…
Read More >Futurist Marcus Barber will be joining ABC’s Vicki Kerrigan in Darwin for the first of an ongoing discussion about the future this Wednesday. Each week on Wednesday afternoon’s, Vicki and Marcus will discuss the future of something, how we prepare for the future, what the future looks like for some industries and other related futures…
Read More >The panel session at the National Manufacturing Week 2011 went well though with four of us on the panel, time was quite compressed. Some really good thoughts from Phillip Chindamo from AIG, Damon Cantwell from Deloitte and Erol Harvey from Minifab, delightfully chaired by Sandra George from SEBN at the City of Greater Dandenong. Rather…
Read More >On Thursday I’ll be part of the panel that wraps up the National Manufacturing Week 2011 in Melbourne at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre under the theme of Meeting the challenges of the next generation of manufacturing with a focus on Innovation and Sustainability. It should be an interesting chat as we consider what…
Read More >There’s lots to like about borrowing ideas from other areas especially where those ideas can lead to a significant positive shift. In the link below, Zaid Ali Alsagoff an educational blogging specialist highlights why the Finnish Education system stands as a potential model to embrace. And whilst there are examples of this type of thinking…
Read More >