This year marked the 30-year anniversary of the Diggers and Dealers Mining Forum 2021 in Kalgoorlie WA.
The event was a hive of optimism and activity with 2,520 delegates attending - the second highest number in the event’s history.
For over 20 years WesTrac has been a proud major sponsor of the gala dinner, showcasing the latest in underground and surface mining equipment with this year’s focus being a preview of the Cat® R2900 XE electric drive underground loader.
Alongside the gala, the annual WesTrac-Caterpillar® cocktail function also saw more than 80 guests enjoy an evening of drinks and hors d'oeuvres at the Goldfields Arts Centre Gallery.
Battery minerals were the hot topic at the forum, while a broader common theme was the future of mining, covering a range of topics including safety, environment, productivity and efficiency. Technology plays a central role in all those areas.
WesTrac CEO Jarvas Croome confirmed the company was seeing rapid roll-out of autonomous and semi-autonomous solutions for haul trucks, underground equipment and dozers, as well as strong demand for training through the WesTrac Technology Training Centre (WTTC).
“As well as the existing autonomous solutions, we are also seeing emerging customer requirements to employ similar technology in wheel loaders and graders,” Mr Croome said.
In terms of mine site safety and working towards the objective of having less staff working underground, Mr Croome said the whole industry was looking for ways to eliminate unnecessary underground human access wherever possible.
“A lot of R&D is still required, not just in terms of equipment technology but across the board, to get to that outcome,” he said.
“We are certainly headed in the right direction and just about everyone in the supply chain is focused on the same ultimate result.”
