Tomorrow's Competency Requirements

The undeniable fact of life in the next 25 years will be the increasing difficulty of the physical conditions of Australian orebodies facing future miners. We are all familiar with names such as the 3000 orebody at Mt Isa, Hilton, Century, Macarthur River, Cannington, and Ernest Henry. These projects represent a significant. proportion of the planned underground mine development in Australia. Moreover, many of these new orebodies are an order of magnitude more difficult to mine and process than their predecessors. Extraction will be from deeper and potentially more hazardous working environments. Occupational health and safety considerations will place unprecedented demands upon mine operators and technology providers of the future.