WA’s mining industry operates in a global market and will always face external pressures, highlighting the need to ensure regulatory settings and the political, economic and social environments are fine-tuned as best as possible to ensure it remains competitive, says PHIC Chief Executive Kirsty Danby.
In a presentation to PHIC’s Community Industry Forum last month, Kirsty said the mining sector, including the port, are affected by and responding to global trends, among them the energy transition, challenging geopolitics, rising cost of business, and licence to operate.
“Of these, none is greater than the energy transition, with its effect not only on what is mined but how it is mined, with consideration for on-site emissions, transportation, shipping, and in Port Hedland the composition of the port’s total trade – its imports and exports,” Kirsty said.
“The CSIRO in its report Unearthing Tomorrow: Trends shaping the future of mining, said: ‘We are entering an era of mining which has a firm focus on the energy transition.
‘Mining companies are scrambling to figure out how to incorporate renewable energy sources and electrified equipment into their greenfield and brownfield sites.
‘The energy transition will be the central focus of the mining industry for decades to come.’”
She said that in Port Hedland, BHP, Fortescue, and Roy Hill were advancing plans to at least reduce if not eliminate carbon emissions from their operations through the introduction of renewable energy sources and the electrification of fleet vehicles and rail operations.
PLS –- Pilbara Minerals – was at the forefront of providing the lithium needed for the batteries that will power EVs globally, had expanded its operational footprint and was working to develop downstream processing possibilities.
Consolidated Minerals was shipping manganese – listed as a critical mineral by countries including Australia, the US, Canada, and Japan – out of Port Hedland to international markets.
And to ensure it can continue to meet demand, the company has just received approval for its Woodie Woodie life-of-mine extension, which will continue to deliver benefits locally.
“Pilbara Ports’ new Lumsden Point facility is being built to accommodate the changing face of port trade driven by the energy transition. It will facilitate the export of battery metals such as lithium and copper concentrates, and the import of renewable energy infrastructure including wind turbines and blades,” Kirsty said.
PHIC’s report on the economics of the port – The Economic Significance of the Port of Port Hedland – forecast that Lumsden Point will contribute $22.6 billion to Australia’s GDP over the 10 years from 2023-24 and support economic diversification and decarbonisation in the Pilbara.
The effects of the energy transition also flow through to the industries of tomorrow for Port Hedland.
In December, APA Group opened a major battery and solar project that would supply BHP with renewable energy – and further projects and building electricity infrastructure are being planned.
POSCO Co Ltd and Port Hedland Iron Pty Ltd were awarded $15 million from the State Government in 2024 for their Port Hedland Iron Project, which aims to decarbonise the steel manufacturing supply chain with production of low carbon hot briquetted iron for export to the Asian market.
And PLS was allocated $15 million for its demonstration-scale plant that incorporates an industrial-scale electric spodumene calciner, which converts critical mineral concentrates into high-value battery precursors.
But not all the megatrends are positive. Port Hedland could feel the effects of geopolitical tensions.
China’s stuttering economy – said to be transitioning from construction led to manufacturing led – could affect future iron ore demand, as could a tariff war between the United States and China.
Consultants assessing risks and opportunities facing the mining sector globally have listed Licence to Operate, or ESG – Environmental, Social, and Governance – criteria, in their top 10 for many years.
“The reality in Port Hedland is that companies including BHP, Fortescue, Roy Hill and others have been heavily engaged in ensuring strict adherence to positive and meaningful ESG policies long before ESG became the catchcry of today,” Kirsty said.
“I can talk about royalties and taxes paid and the benefits to the State and Federal budgets, but a tangible example of this in operation is the PHIC Member Community Grants Programs,” Kirsty said.
“PHIC members are committed to helping communities in their regions. A range of community grants are available to assist groups working hard to provide services and programs in areas including sport, education, environment, wellbeing and Indigenous engagement.
“Eligibility, timing and the conditions for the grants programs vary, with full details available on each member’s website.
“And the message is that now is the time to submit your applications.”
EY in its risks and opportunities report for the mining sector in 2025, had rising costs in its top 10; it came in at Number Six, unchanged since 2024.
It said miners continued to face high costs, particularly around labour and energy.
And it mentioned ESG, saying more than a third of respondents to its survey agreed that the focus on ESG (and pressure to meet growing regulatory obligations) is distracting from productivity.
Kirsty said cost pressures were the same for Port Hedland miners, and the combined costs of business are directly linked to international competitiveness, since they all operated in global markets.
“Roy Hill Chair Gina Rinehart had this to say late last year at the time of the company’s full-year results: ‘Australia’s increasing government intervention combined with ideological and expensive or impractical policies is negatively affecting new mining investment, which will lead to lower living standards.
‘This should be a wake-up call to all Australians. We should not take our standard of living for granted.
‘Australia has now seen six consecutive quarters of falling living standards, and the highest rate of business failure on record.’”
Deloitte in its 2024 trends report highlighted the skills shortage, saying mining and metals faced the difficulty in appealing to talent, particularly the younger generation. It’s the same in Australia as it is in Canada, and the United States.
BHP’s Australian President sounded the alarm in late 2024, telling the Melbourne Mining Club that Australia’s supply of mining workers is under threat, noting that a large portion of the engineering workforce is due to retire in the next 10 years, and that they were not going to be replaced based on the rate of graduates in mining-related courses.
Connecting with the talent of tomorrow must be a priority for the mining industry.
Recognising this, PHIC has developed its own education program – Mine to Market – which some of you here have seen. It’s a way of highlighting the extraordinary diversity of careers provided by the mining industry.