MINING CONSULTANTS their best when they are in an environment where they feel comfortable in being who they are , while being supported , acknowledged and recognised for their work .
“ If you foster an environment of inclusion and diversity you , as a business , are going to be more successful in attracting the best people , getting the best out of them and , through that , better servicing your clients .”
“ ESG and sustainability are relevant across all disciplines , which means every individual ( the engineers , environmental scientists , etc ) working on a project must contribute to fulfilling the requirements ,” Stantec ’ s Jon Treen says addressing the industry ’ s diversity void , having “ pivoted ” from a “ talent attraction ” to “ talent generation ” model after the last boom cycle ended .
“ This was a natural step towards enabling inclusion and diversity within the workforce as it removed some of the challenges faced by being downstream of the tertiary education system ,” he said .
“ MEC value diversity in all forms – the cultural and experience mix we have built in the team has and continues to enable us to provide solutions to clients globally that consider the unique modifying factors of the deposits and the economic environments where they are situated .
“ This focus has served us well , as clients are now increasingly sourcing consulting firms that meet their diversity targets also .”
While ERM has seen pressure from clients to diversify its workforce – particular its major clients – the company ’ s inclusion and diversity journey has not been driven by these expectations , Whincup stated .
“ We see it as a critical part of our ongoing success as a leading global provider of sustainability advisory services ,” he explained . Some of the areas the company has been pursuing as part of this journey include a women in leadership program – reinforced by the fact its CEO and many senior ERM leaders are women – and the establishment of a global diversity and inclusion council led by the executive committee .
Within this council are three employee resource groups looking at women , LGBT + and disability within the workplace .
“ They provide employee-led communities that inform our company agenda on diversity and inclusion ,” Whincup explained .
When asked about whether or not these initiatives and aims were being appreciated by its mining clients , Whincup said : “ I don ’ t know if it is
being appreciated or acknowledged by clients , but we feel people are going to give their best and do
The next 10 years
There was much diversity of thought when asking consultants how their roles and the sector may change in the next decade .
AMC ’ s Smith said consumers of strategic metals would be looking to localise their supply chains following COVID-19-disruptions over the next 10 years .
“ Post COVID-19 , there will be great demand for locally-sourced strategic minerals ,” he said . “ So there will be a lot more studies of smaller , potentially sub-economic projects that may require national government intervention to support prices .”
And , hard-rock mining could also become more mechanised , according to Smith .
“ At some stage , continuous hard-rock mining machines will become practical and mining will be re-engineered , requiring a high level of intellectual capacity and innovation ,” he said . “ And , being able to combine sophisticated analysis with mining smarts is only going to become more important .”
SRK ’ s Braun saw the big data trend escalating further into 2030 .
“ From exploration to operation , to reclamation , we will see new possibilities when we aggregate and interpret new data sets ,” he said . “ The role of the mining consultant will expand to explore , address and test these possibilities in the real world .”
CSA Global ’ s van Olden saw demand for various minerals changing as global energy-generation and energy-storage market developments take hold . He also expected a continual focus on productivity and the benefits of automation , with the advances made by major miners filtering down to smaller companies as the technology and systems become more accessible . ESG considerations will grow too . “ Increasing social awareness and access to information means that mining companies will be held more accountable for their impact on their environment ,” he added . Miners will then require increasing specialist support in “ addressing these demands in a way that enables profitable and sustainable mining to continue ”.
RPMGlobal ’ s Baudry took a similar line when projecting forwards a decade : “ The communities in which we live and operate in guide the behaviour and standards they expect from
In the next 10 years , the role of the mining consultant will expand to “ explore , address and test ” new possibilities that come with the aggregation and interpretation of new data sets , SRK ’ s Terry Braun says leaders . The communication speed with which this occurs has accelerated and will continue to do so . As such , we need to get used to the speed cycle of how this occurs and that will challenge boards and leadership teams .”
Catania , from MEC Mining , said advancing technology is already automating much of the iterative work being completed by the industry , which was turning consulting towards “ value engineering decision making ”. The skill gap emerged in Whincup ’ s final remarks . “ I think ESG ’ s ties to finance , the climate emergency and the low carbon economy transition are the three key factors , not to forget the last four months where racial inequality has come to the fore ,” he said . “ Collectively these are going to make it a very interesting period for the mining sector .
“ This will also impact on the war for talent that the mining industry faces , in attracting the best in the face of competition from more ‘ glamorous ’ sectors .”
Both Stantec ’ s Treen and DMT ’ s Dr Roubos echoed similar thoughts on how the relationship between mining clients and consultants would evolve .
“ I believe we will see continued growth in the partnerships between clients and consultants because there is an inherent understanding that a strong consultant team brings solutions – engineering and technical – from different projects , operations , industries and geographies ,” Treen said .
Dr Roubos added : “ The role of the mining consultant is not going to change , but there will be an evolution in the tools , methodology and knowledge over the next 10 years .”
He concluded : “ The changes we are already seeing in digitalisation , automation and technology will make the scope of our role more complex and more dynamic , evolving to offer expertise on the day-to-day processes as well as playing a role shaping the broader growth path of our clients .”
IM
16 International Mining | OCTOBER 2020