AusIMM fellow Mark Adams is keen to be part of the action when the Mill Operators Conference opens its doors in October.
Since its inception in June 1978, AusIMM’s Mill Operators (MillOps) Conference has been pushing the boundaries of what it means to be in the mineral processing industry.
This once-regional gathering has steadily grown into a global event – and when this year’s iteration opens its doors in Perth from October 21–23, its promising to be the biggest yet.
Set to attract more than 600 industry professionals, MillOps 2024 will be a hub for networking, learning and growth, and keynote speaker Mark Adams is looking forward to being a part of it.
“In this industry, the people make the difference,” Adams told Australian Mining. “I’m really interested to hear the innovative ideas attendees will have about how we’re going to better the sector in the future.”
Image: AusIMM
Adams’ career has spanned almost the same length of time as MillOps.
From working in the underground mines of Zambia and Botswana to becoming asset president for BHP World Minerals’ Cannington operation in Queensland (now owned by South32), Adams has worked through some of the key events that have shaped the industry.
He credits his first superintendent job as one of the highlights of his career.
“I’m an underground miner by profession but I was seconded to the metallurgical division at Mount Isa for 18 months and I thought it was good to try something a bit different,” Adams said.
“I got to meet and work with an exceptional group of metallurgists there who helped me to understand what made the metallurgy industry work.”
Adams took that experience with him when he moved to Western Australia. Since then, he’s been involved in some key projects.
Image: AusIMM
“We spend a lot of money on mining, so it’s important we focus on safety and maximising the value of what we extract,” he said. “I often talk about mining being like a relay race; when someone moves on they can’t drop the baton, they have to hand it over to the next person so they can finish what the first person started.”
Adams will draw on this wealth of experience for his keynote speech, with the current state of nickel a key focus.
“I’m going to talk a bit about the value chain of operations I’ve been involved in, as well as in-situ recovery and in-situ leaching,” he said.
“In-situ recovery and leaching are, I believe, the next major aspect we need to consider to restore our position on the nickel cost curve. They will also help us extract orebodies that are not currently seen as being economic.”
Attendees can also look forward to addresses from leaders at Newmont, IGO and BHP across the three days.
Networking drinks and a conference dinner will provide excellent opportunities for attendees to connect and build relationships.
There are also several key themes shaping the conference, including updates and newly commissioned plants, best practice in existing operations, operation and optimisation of key units, and environmental, social and governance (ESG).
But, as Adams said, the true value of the conference will come from those who are in attendance.
“We have some quite exceptional processing people in Australia who are at the top of their game,” Adams said.
“MillOps will be about really listening to them and understanding what they want to do differently to progress to the future of metallurgy.”
AusIMM’s Mill Operators Conference 2024 will be held in Perth from October 21–23.
This feature appeared in the September 2024 issue of Australian Mining.
