Austmine 2023 Award Winners

Sponsored by Austrade

Winner: Immersive Technologies

The Craig Senger Excellence in Export Award celebrates those companies who excel in exporting and have an ethos of courage and determination. The award is named after and given in memory of Craig Senger, an Austrade Trade Commissioner who was a strong supporter of the Australian METS sector when his life was tragically cut short in a terrorist attack in Jakarta in July 2009.

This award continues to recognise the importance of exporting to the Australian METS sector and seeks to profile those who are leaders internationally. For METS companies to truly thrive, exporting is critical, and this award contributes to creating a strong global awareness of Australia’s impressive METS sector capabilities.

Immersive Technologies is the recognised and trusted global leader in training and workforce development solutions for mining. As the world’s largest supplier of mining equipment simulators, Immersive Technologies has deployed their solutions in 50 countries and works closely with mining operations and equipment manufacturers to solve real industry problems in areas of safety, productivity, reactive maintenance and the availability of skilled personnel.

Finalists:

• Immersive Technologies            

• Duratray International

• National Plastics and Rubber    

• Applied Mining Technologies

• Wilco Technologies

Sponsored by Rex Minerals

Winner: Fleet Space Technologies

For over 30 years, Austmine has been promoting innovation and technology in mining, and this award is given to a company that has developed an exceptionally innovative product, solution, or strategy that will shift the paradigm of how mining operates and drives true step change in innovation.

Fleet Space Technologies is a worthy winner of the Outstanding METS Innovation Award in a competitive field of over 30 entries. 

Headquartered here in Adelaide, Fleet Space have developed the highly innovative ExoSphere technology, a first-of-its-kind system that combines Geodes, satellite connected nodes, a constellation of low earth orbit small satellites and Ambient Noise Tomography to discover critical resources much faster than traditional methods. 

The innovation represents a critical step-change in mining exploration and has the potential to fast-track the next wave of major mineral projects around the world. 

Finalists:

• NextOre
• Fleet Space Technologies
• Hawk Measurement Systems
• Rattlejack Innovations
• Safe Gauge

Sponsored by Liebherr

Winner: Rio Tinto & Weir ESCO

This award first launched in 2015 in order to acknowledge innovation being implemented, introduced or driven by mining companies. Miners are critical to driving innovation, either through internal development, fast adoption of innovative technologies or processes, or innovation in their business model or approach to collaboration. Rio Tinto Iron Ore is to be congratulated for their contribution to mining technology taking out the Exceptional Mining Innovation category. 

Developing a semi-automated operation for handling and changing ground engaging tools (GET), the system's innovative features include a quick connect attachment system that allows for rapid end effector changes, a GET agnostic universal tool head, and a Personal Proximity Awareness System that notifies the operator of potential line of fire within a set zone. 

Weir ESCO designed and manufactured the mission-critical equipment with the system commercialised in late 2022 after an optimisation period of operation, at West Angelas. Rio Tinto's dedication to applying robotics, training, and automation to a real-world problem, whilst removing physicality as a barrier to operation, has earned them this prestigious award.

Finalists:

• First Mode & Anglo American
• Pembroke Resources
• Rio Tinto & Weir ESCO
• Evolution Mining

Sponsored by Thiess

Winner: Dale Elphinston

The Champion of Innovation award recognises an individual’s significant contribution to innovation in the METS sector  across the course of their career. The award celebrates an individual who has pioneered and championed innovation and has changed the course of the mining industry through their outstanding vision, inspirational leadership, passion for innovation and advancement of mining equipment, technology and services. The winner was selected by an industry peer group committee comprised of innovation experts.

Dale Elphinstone is simply a METS legend. With a 50 year career, he has built and contributed to many successful businesses, pioneered how we mine underground, and has been a steadfast champion for manufacturing in Australia. 

He founded the Elphinstone Group, which was bought by CAT, and his equipment made in Burnie TAS became a global success story. 

Together, Elphinstone and Caterpillar have manufactured more than 5000 underground and surface mining vehicles from their collective facilities in Burnie over the past 40 years.  

He ethos of “we did it because we didn’t know we couldn’t” shows that innovation is in his DNA and his work ethic, and commitment to the Tasmanian community, has made him one of the most successful and respected entrepreneurs in the mining industry.