The Melbourne Mining Club Chairman's Annual Letter
MELBOURNE MINING CLUB CHAIRMAN’S LETTER 2023
It is my great pleasure to be writing to you as the Melbourne Mining Club is about to enter its 23rd year, since starting in the Supper Room of the Melbourne Town Hall in August 2001 with a speech from our Founding Patron, the great Sir Arvi Parbo AC.
The new year opens with the mining industry in great shape, enjoying strong commodity prices, financial success and strong global demand for the products we dig from the ground, process into metals or just supply into the global market. But there is so much more to do, especially in educating and recruiting new workers into our industry and to attract the most brilliant of minds.
Let’s look back over 2022, a year when the MMC was able to run a full program of speakers, and welcome back members and guests to our lunchtime keynote speaking events and our popular Cutting Edge series for emerging companies.
Newly-MD and appointed CEO of AngloGold Ashanti, Alberto Calderon, was our first keynote speaker in February, followed by an inspiring address from Amanda Lacaze, MD and CEO of rare earths miner Lynas in April. Club members learned of the major energy issues facing Australia when addressed by Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher in June. Kevin was a great hit with our student chapter guests when he met with them after his speech. We thank Kevin for his engagement and encouragement for our earth science students.
Promotion of a career in mining has been a feature of the MMC year and we are grateful for the support of leading engineering group Gekko in sponsoring our activities of engaging with student bodies, especially those associated with the AusIMM.
Rio Tinto Australia CEO Kellie Parker headlined at our August lunch, followed by Northern Star CEO Stuart Tonkin in October. BHP Chief Technical Officer Laura Tyler finished off our year with her inspiring December keynote.
The Victorian mining sector is moving ahead, giving the Cutting Edge team a good selection of local exploration and development companies to headline our five afternoon events in 2022. The club was also able to host a cocktail event for Agnico Eagle chief Ammar Al-Joundi who met with a large swath of Victoria’s mining company executives and representatives in April after concluding the merger with Kirkland Lake, owner of the Fosterville Gold Mine, near Bendigo.
The club welcomed three new Foundation Member sponsors in 2022 – gold miner Navarre Minerals, Queensland and Tasmanian zinc producer New Century Resources and RTL Mining, based in the Latrobe Valley. As 2023 unfolds, our members and guests are set for some top-level speakers, beginning with the MD and CEO of Pilbara Minerals, Dale Henderson, one of Australia’s major lithium miners and exporters.
Club membership remains strong at more than 3,000 while our presence on social media is solid with nearly 5,000 followers on LinkedIn. The club’s website www.melbourneminingclub.com carries valuable current and historical data about our speakers and photo galleries from our events by club honorary photographer Paul Scott.
As the club heads towards its 125 lunch events in 2023, the volunteer Steering Committee is delighted with the support it receives from the Victorian resources communities and from our joint venture partners, the AusIMM and the Minerals Council of Australia. Our Co-Patrons Leigh Clifford AC and Hugh Morgan AC have been regular supporters of club events in 2022.
Finally, the club is in a strong financial position and acknowledges our Principal Sponsors AMC Consultants (which has held this role since the club’s inception) and leading law firm White & Case. Our Cutting Edge sponsors are PwC Australia and the Victorian Government’s Geological Survey of Victoria (GSV), with our Chairman’s Supper Cutting Edge sponsor being Mincore Engineering.
If you missed any of the great keynotes in 2022, recordings and videos of these events are available on our website with links to our YouTube channel. These recordings are supplied by our great friends at Boardroom Media and are available for viewing free of charge.
Your honorary Steering Committee joins with me in wishing our members a safe and prosperous 2023 and we look forward to seeing old friends and new faces at our events this year.
Sincerely yours,
