Industry Expert Feature - Opportunity in Crisis
We invited Executive Officer of Mining and Energy Services Council of Australia (MESCA), David Wallis, to participate in our Industry Expert feature and pass comment on the mining industry. Over coming months we’ll feature experts from our other key industry segments including Transport and Logistics, Pipeline, Construction and Infrastructure.
Strange a title as this may seem for a quarterly newsletter, I, on the other hand, believe it is very apt considering what has happened in world markets over recent months and the flow on effect to businesses.
To provide an answer to exactly what has happened is probably not possible. There are a significant number of “Monday’s experts” telling us all about why it happened. These were in many cases the same experts who didn’t see the “Boom” ending and are now riding bicycles not BMWs. I personally, am not all that interested so much in what happened but more so in “how do we manage the impacts”.
So what should we do? Have you identified who are your best customers? Why are they your best customers, is it the ease of conversion from proposal to sale or do they spend the most? Do you “KNOW” what it is about you that makes them buy from you? If you don’t, don’t you think it’s time you asked? Please don’t assume, ask; the wonderful thing about asking a client a question is it shows you respect their opinion.
Should you continue developing the skill set of your staff? Only if you believe history will not repeat itself. One thing we have learned from the cycle of the mining industry is that it does come back. Less than 12 months ago companies around Australia were screaming for labour. When things do kick back in make sure you’re in the position to take full advantage in all aspects of your business from upper management to your people in the field.
So to my title “Opportunity in Crisis” what are the opportunities? A great deal has been spoken recently regarding the environment, green house emissions etc. Herein lay some great opportunities to get in at ground level. In QLD at the moment there is talk of up to 6 gas projects coming on line in Gladstone. That is years away I hear you say… agreed. Where is the gas coming from? In the Surat Basin the number of smaller companies developing projects to farm into this grid as well as the big boys is quite astounding. If you would like to hear more about what is going on in this part of the world, the Surat Basin Corporation is holding an exhibition / conference in Dalby on the 19, 20, 21 of August 2009 which will provide you with a valuable insight into these projects and the industry.
Through NSW, South Australia and Victoria there is a number of wind generation and solar projects which are either started or starting soon. Added to this are some significant Desalinisation plants planned for Victoria and South Australia. On the 21 July 2009, Environmental Clean Technologies will deliver a presentation of their planned $6b Coldry plant for MESCA in Melbourne. This process involves drying brown coal. For every two tonnes of brown coal the plant will produce one tonne of dry pellets and one thousand litres of water, creating a high energy pellet with significantly reduced CO2 emissions.
And finally the west, well where do you start? Woodside, Shell, Santos and Bow Energy, just to name a few, are well on the way to developing a number of projects in the north of the state. There is also the fact that the West Australian government has passed legislation granting Uranium mining in the state. This opens a number of further opportunities with Tier 1 and Tier 2 mining companies.
What does all this mean? Green is not only environmentally friendly it is the colour of money and it’s also good for business.
World demand for our commodities will continue to be needed. China, as an example, plans to have, by 2020, eighteen towns with a population in excess of 4.5 million people (it currently has four). We need to continue developing ways to find, harvest, process and utilise commodities in more cost effective and environmentally conscious ways. It is happening now with the development of robotics, clean coal technology, LNG etc. Our world has become so small with all the advances in information and communication technology. Virtually everyone has access to the internet, and email, let alone digital mobile phones. I believe this has much to do with why markets reacted so quickly and spiraled out of control so rapidly at the end of last year. I also believe it will be what drives the commodities market back up again and have us all asking the question “will this ever end… again”.
Information on Surat Basin Conference and ECT presentation available from www.mesca.com.au