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,

 

Richard Morrow
Chairman – Steering Committee
The Melbourne Mining Club

Congratulations Leigh Clifford AC

The Melbourne Mining Club wishes to congratulate our co-patron Leigh Clifford AC on his elevation to Companion of the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List. Mr Clifford was elevated from Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for eminent service to business in the aviation, arts and education sectors, to the community through charitable support and scholarships, and for philanthropic contributions.
Mr Clifford, who is co-patron of the club with fellow distinguished mining leader Hugh Morgan AC, is pictured at the club’s recent event with Minerals Council of Australia CEO Tania Constable PSM and EMR Capital executive chairman Owen Hegarty OAM.

 

Melbourne Mining Club update from the Chair

Dear sponsors, partners, members and friends,

I am writing to update you on activities of the Melbourne Mining Club. Surprisingly perhaps, we have been rather busy.

The Steering Committee is very much looking forward to presenting our next Town Hall event when COVID restrictions permit. We are excited about distributing copies of the  ‘20+20’ commemorative book which is back from the printers.

The book was put together to mark the club’s 20th anniversary and is an outstanding collection of 30 essays from mining leaders who have graced the club’s stage over the past 20 years. We asked our speakers to remark on the past two decades and offer ideas of what our global industry will look like over the next 20 years. You will be very interested in their comments, observations and the photo galleries.

Due to COVID restrictions, we couldn’t hold the 20th anniversary lunch in August this year, where our speaker was to have been club stalwart and Chairman of 29Metals, Owen Hegarty OAM (also a contributor to the ‘20+20’ book). However, we are keen to distribute the book in soft copy which you can download today by clicking here.

Please feel free to download and read these essays. Also please feel free to pass on the download to others, if you are so inclined. A hard-back copy of the ‘20+20’ book will be distributed (at no cost to members, I might add) at our next luncheon event which will take place when restrictions on the size of gatherings allow.

We have had two Cutting Edge events this year, and we look forward to restarting this program, again when restrictions allow.

We thank all of you for supporting the club – especially our co-Patrons, our Principal Sponsors, our JV Partners, our Foundation Members, the Victorian Government through the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions, sponsors of the Cutting Edge Series and of course all 3,000+ members in Australia and across the globe.

On behalf of the MMC Steering Committee,

Richard Morrow, FAusIMM

Chairman
The Melbourne Mining Club

 

Vale Roy Woodall AO FAusIMM

Roy Woodall AO FAusIMM, the doyen of Australian explorationists, has passed away in South Australia, aged 90.

He is acknowledged as central to the exploration and discovery culture of Western Mining Corporation, a company he worked for over a 42-year period, retiring in 1995 in his role as Director of Exploration.

According to WMC Historian, Gilbert Ralph OAM, Australian discoveries on Roy’s watch at WMC included Kambalda, Yeelirrie, Benambra, St Ives, Olympic Dam and Ernest Henry. Those discoveries extended to offshore activities in a wide range of countries.

A recipient of the prestigious AusIMM Medal in 1984, Roy served on many advisory bodies including the CSIRO, ANU, University of Adelaide, the Australian Science and Technology Council and the Antarctic Research Policy Advisory Committee. He was also the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate of Science from the University of WA.

Roy and his lifetime companion Barbara have 10 children.

Vale Roy Woodall.

 

Melbourne Mining Club and COVID19

To our Melbourne Mining Club members,

Safety is the number one priority of the Australian minerals industry. This includes taking a conservative approach to protecting the health of participants at Melbourne Mining Club events. Events have resumed subject to government COVID updates.  Please monitor our website as dates can change at short notice.

We thank you for your ongoing support for our forum and related events, and we look forward to welcoming you at future events. Dates will be updated on our website, on LinkedIn and distributed via email alerts.

For further information please contact Jenny Neales, MMC Secretariat, mmc@minerals.org.au

We appreciate your understanding in these challenging times.

Kind regards,

Richard Morrow, FAusIMM

Chairman

Melbourne Mining Club.

Vale John Reynolds AM

John Reynolds AM, a true veteran of the Australian and Victorian mining industries, passed away, aged 98, on 8 August 2020.

A metallurgist who evolved into senior management and administration, John’s professional years were spent with companies including Consolidated Zinc (CRA) and WMC which he joined in 1972 and left due to ‘retirement’ in 1986. John, of course, did not retire, and he formed what became known as the Victorian Chamber of Mines. Today, it is better known as the Minerals Council of Australia, Victorian Division. John was a true and innovative leader; one of our finest clear thinkers – something for which he was often consulted, especially in the formation years of the Melbourne Mining Club. He was a regular attendee at MMC events, and was a valued guide through the first 20 years of our Club.

John is survived by his wife Frances and their two children Bill and Pam. Vale John Reynolds AM.

 

2020 Victorian Women in Resources Award Winners

The Melbourne Mining Club congratulates the winners of the 2020 Victorian Women in Resources Awards.

Exceptional Woman in Victorian Resources
Sue Mills, Processing Manager – Fosterville Gold Mine, Kirkland Lake Gold.

Exceptional Young Woman in Victorian Resources
Maddy Grochowski, Human Resources Manager – Syrah Resources.

Outstanding Trade Operator or Technician
Carmel Jenkinson, 4th Year electrical apprentice – Energy Australia/Yallourn Mine Maintenance Alliance.

Further details can be found here.

We wish Sue, Maddy and Carmel the best of luck for the National Awards which will be announced later in the year.

Melbourne Mining Club and COVID19

 

To our Melbourne Mining Club members,

Safety is the number one priority of the Australian minerals industry. This includes taking a conservative approach to protecting the health of participants at Melbourne Mining Club events. We have therefore decided to postpone all events until further notice.

This decision has been informed by the latest official advice from the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee and other health authorities to manage the spread of COVID-19.

We thank you for your ongoing support for our forum and related events, and we look forward to welcoming you to our future events. Dates will be updated on our website, on LinkedIn and distributed via email alerts.

For further information please contact Jenny Neales, MMC Secretariat, mmc@minerals.org.au

We appreciate your understanding in these challenging times.

Kind regards,

Richard Morrow, FAusIMM

Chairman

Melbourne Mining Club.

The Melbourne Mining Club Chairman’s Annual Letter

The Melbourne Mining Club welcomes in the new decade as the Australian mining and resources sector continues to drive the domestic economy, providing jobs, incomes and financial returns for investors and participants.

The way ahead is not without its challenges, but there is a vibrant feel to the mining sector in particular, as our companies drive strong export revenue and our gold producers build on more than a year of strong Australian dollar gold prices.

The Club’s outlook for 2020 is positive and your honorary Steering Committee has put together an exciting line-up of speakers for our 2020 Town Hall luncheon events, starting on Thursday 6 February with Peter Bradford, CEO of Independence Group. Peter has driven the emergence of Independence as a $3.7 billion market cap gold and base metals producer. Such has been the growth that it was only five years ago that he spoke at our Cutting Edge mid-cap afternoon series. That’s a big graduation!

Looking back on 2019, it was a year tinged with sadness at the passing in May of our founding Patron, Sir Arvi Parbo, pictured below with BHP’s then-CEO Andrew Mackenzie. Sir Arvi was a much-respected icon of the mining sector. He will be missed. At our recent December lunch, it was announced that Hugh Morgan AC and  Leigh Clifford AO had agreed to become the Club’s co-Patrons.

I was delighted to see a more diverse range of speakers and VIP guests at the Chairman’s Table in 2019, starting the year with Shell Australia Chair Zoe Yujnovich. Zoe told us some home truths about the outlook for Australia’s energy supply. We followed this with an innovative All-Star panel of speakers at our April lunch where the speakers tackled the future of financing Australia’s mining industry. We were delighted to hear from St Barbara’s then-CEO Bob Vassie in late May as gold became one of the better performing sectors. Bob surprised the sharemarket later in the year by announcing his retirement from executive duties.

The August event introduced the China-based CEO of CMOC, Li “Steele” Chaochun, to Australian investors. The company owns 80% of the NorthParkes mine in NSW and has been one of the more aggressive Chinese companies expanding in global mining in recent years. Fortescue Metals CEO Elizabeth Gaines addressed our October event and delivered a powerful speech on the Australian iron ore sector. FMG has had a big year on the ASX and strong leadership is certainly a big driver of the company’s success. Our final speaker for 2019 was Alumina chief Mike Ferraro who shone a light on a company which is a substantial part of Melbourne’s mining sector. Mike’s speech was the centrepoint of an event devoted to supporting the mining industry’s commitment to safety. He donned a special safety vest along with just about every member and guest at this amazing lunch. The event, supported by the WorkWear Group, also raised funds for mining charity Mates in Mining.

Our annual London dinner was again a feature of the calendar for the UK resources investment community. Held at Lord’s Cricket Ground, Freeport-McMoRan legendary CEO Richard Adkerson addressed an audience of 550+ members and guests. The 2020 dinner is already shaping up as a ‘must attend.’

Photos from all these gatherings can be found on our website www.melbourneminingclub.com . Check it out. Our honorary photographer Paul Scott may have snapped a pic of you. Pics from the December “Safety First” event showed an impressive display of flouro!!

The Cutting Edge series was again a great success, attracting audiences of more than 200 to the Melbourne Town Hall. The vibrancy and enthusiasm of the sector was on show at these presentation series for small- and mid-cap miners and explorers. You can expect another big year from these presenters. They never fail to paint a picture of the exciting exploration and development phase of our mining industry.

Thank you to our sponsors, supporters, members and volunteers – including the hard-working honorary committee and our very supportive JV partners at the Minerals Council of Australia and the AusIMM – for 2019. Looking forward to seeing you all in the new year.

Richard Morrow
Chairman – Steering Committee
The Melbourne Mining Club

MMC and GMAC partnership

 

Memorandum of Understanding

Between  The Melbourne Mining Club (MMC) and The Global Mining Association of China (GMAC)

The Melbourne Mining Club, founded in 2001, is a not-for-profit organisation formed to promote the minerals industry and is Australia’s premier forum for the promotion of the Australian resources sector.
It is based in Melbourne, the Hub of the Australian mining sector.

GMAC is the representative body for both companies and individuals within the international mining community in China. GMAC’s main goals focus on Advocacy, Networking, Representation and Support of its members in the international mining community in China.

Background

MMC and GMAC recognise the long history of mining in Australia and China, the strong relationship and mutual respect between resources professionals of the two countries, and the considerable advantage of having strong and constructive dialogue between all levels of the industry in Australia and China.

The MOU recognises the close trade relations between China and Australia and that the mining sector has been the most significant contributor to that strong trading relationship.

MMC and GMAC have consistent goals to boost the broad mining industry in both countries for the mutual benefit of the industry globally as well as in their respective country.

Pictured below signing the MOU, Richard Morrow, Chairman of the Melbourne Mining Club and Peter Arkell, Chairman of the Global Mining Association of China.

Bob Vassie & December Safety First luncheon

The Melbourne Mining Club had another triumphant luncheon this May, at the Melbourne Town Hall. We thoroughly enjoyed listening to keynote speaker Bob Vassie, CEO, St Barbara.

During Bob’s speech, he shared with the room a picture of himself at the Gwalia mine-site, dressed head to toe in his safety attire.  At the time, Bob mentioned that he felt the horizontal reflective stripes on his shirt were not overly flattering and that he really should speak to the team at Hard Yakka to see if they could do something about this.  Lucky for Bob, John Ripani and Caroline Rolleston from Workwear Group were attending the lunch.  Workwear Group design and manufacture the Hard Yakka and KingGee brands and were able to come up with a creative solution to meet Bob’s desire for a new ‘slim look’ shirt with vertical stripes. Whilst Workwear Group have noted that the vertical stripes are non-compliant, the Melbourne Mining Club did want to have some fun and share the photo of Bob wearing his shirt. (see below) We do feel that this design should be named the ‘Vassie’.

Thanks Bob, John and Caroline for being part of the fun and thank you in advance to Workwear Group, part of the Wesfarmers Industrial & Safety, for their generosity and support for our Safety First luncheon later this year, timed perfectly with the Feast of St Barbara – the patron Saint of Miners.

Gavan Collery OAM

 

Founder of the Melbourne Mining Club steering committee, Gavan Collery, is a recipient of the Order of Australia in the 2019 Queen’s Birthday acknowledgements.

Gavan is a 35-year veteran of the resources industry and has been awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for services to mining.

“This is outstanding recognition of the volunteer work that Gavan has put in with the Melbourne Mining Club since its inception in 2001,” said Melbourne Mining Club Chairman, Richard Morrow.

“Gavan has also made his mark as an IMARC Ambassador, with this important Melbourne-based resources industry event now in its sixth year, and targeting more than 7,000 attendees from over 100 nations in late October this year. For close to two decades, he was active in developing better relations with the Philippines mining industry and with building bilateral relations with the Filipino Government, culminating in Life Membership of the Australia-Philippines Business Council. His honorary activities include being a foundation member of the Philippines Mining Club and providing guidance to help launch the Mandarin Mining Club in China.”

Gavan started his career in resources after a career in journalism within The Herald & Weekly Times Group. He joined Elders Resources in 1988 before moving to Western Mining Corporation where he served for almost 15 years in a number of roles in corporate affairs. He left WMC after the company was taken over by BHP and joined Indophil Resources, the major asset of which was the massive WMC-discovered Tampakan Copper-Gold Project in Mindanao, the Philippines.

When Indophil was taken over by Philippine interests, Gavan started to consult to mining and oil companies, in between his time-consuming labour of love as an honorary member of the MMC steering committee. He also found time to devote many hours service to help establish and grow the International Mining and Resources Conference to confirm Melbourne as a hub for minerals industry investment. He was instrumental in attracting to IMARC 2018 the global industry group, the ICMM, one of the highlights of this emerging annual globally-significant gathering of mining industry leaders.

In responding to the recognition, Gavan said: “This Order of Australia award is indeed a great honour – humbling. It is in every way a recognition of an industry that contributes almost 60% of Australia’s goods and services exports, now worth almost $250 billion in annual export earnings, and one that sees Australia and Australians taking a leadership role across the globe, not just in technical areas or innovation, but also in environmental management, social license to operate practices, health and safety, extending to Australian METS with their goods and services to the world.

“The growth, reach and influence of the Melbourne Mining Club has been particularly pleasing. It now stands proudly as a world leader in its field as a forum for our industry’s leaders, having reached across a wide range of continents and countries with more than 250 of the world’s industry leaders harnessing this platform to discuss and profile issues and challenges as well as communicate the important role that the resources industry plays in economic and social well-being.”

Gavan and his wife Jan have two children and four grandchildren.

 

Vale Sir Arvi Parbo

A memorial commemoration for Sir Arvi Parbo AC, Patron of the Melbourne Mining Club, was held at the Melbourne Town Hall on Monday 27 May.  If you would like to listen to the service please click here. A video of the service can be watched here.

VALE SIR ARVI PARBO AC 10 February 1926 – 1 May 2019

 

 

MMC & Djakarta Mining Club

Melbourne Mining Club and the Djakarta Mining Club have joined forces to build stronger relations between the resource industries of the regions two biggest mining sectors.

Djakarta Mining Club Co –Founder and Vice Chairman Mr David Duffy offers MMC members reciprocal membership of the Djakarta Mining Club  to attend Djakarta Mining Club events at the member attendance price. The Djakarta Mining Club has 2,200 members from 900 companies and 25 sponsors.

In recent years, the MMC has had regular contact and we look forward to working together in the future.

DMC members are cordially invited to attend MMC functions – the bi-monthly luncheons and the Cutting Edge afternoon events – by registering on the website . We look forward to posting photos of DMC members on our gallery page, a popular site for our members.

The Melbourne Mining Club Chairman’s Annual Letter 2019

Welcome to 2019 and another big year for the Melbourne Mining Club. We will start the year with a keynote address by Shell Australia Chair, Zoe Yujnovich, at the magnificent Melbourne Town Hall on Wednesday 13 February. But what a year we had in 2018.

My 2018 highlight had to be the success of IMARC – the International Mining and Resources Conference in late October. IMARC is a Foundation Member of our Club, and I have been a big believer in the concept of Melbourne, as the hub of the Australian mining sector, hosting an internationally-recognised major mining conference. IMARC 2018 exceeded our wildest dreams in terms of speakers and attendances, and we hope for another successful IMARC this October.

Orica chief, Alberto Calderon, started our MMC year off with a bang, using his speech to scope out a way for Australia to counter the Trump corporate tax cuts move. The proposal for faster write-offs of capital investment became known as the Calderon Plan in the media and generated much discussion. In April, we were given a vision of the new age of battery power when Ken Brinsden, chief of lithium exporter, Pilbara Minerals, crossed the Nullarbor to address our members.

South Australia’s expansion-focussed copper miner, Oz Minerals, grabbed centre stage as MD Andrew Cole spoke passionately about the future of mining in Australia at our June luncheon. Our London dinner on 28 June featured an insightful and fun-filled keynote interview between Rio Tinto CEO J-S Jacques and FT Editor Lionel Barber (pictured below) at Lord’s Nursery Pavilion. Legendary England captain, Mike Gatting, welcomed the MMC to Lord’s, and our 550 members and guests had a night to remember, with our Event Partner being the ANZ Bank, represented by their resources chief Aaron Ross.

Our August event was not to be missed as Tony Makuch, CEO of Kirkland Lake Gold, introduced himself and the company to our members. KL Gold’s Fosterville mine, near Bendigo, is one of the richest gold mines in the world and a major showcase for the re-emerging Victorian gold sector.

Energy supply and distribution was front and centre in November as Woodside CEO Peter Coleman addressed the Club, while we topped off the year with a keynote from Federal Resources Minister Matt Canavan.

The Cutting Edge series grew in popularity in 2018 and I am confident that a graduate from the CE will front the big stage in 2019. Special thanks to our event sponsors PwC, the Victorian Government and Mincore Engineers. Check out our website for the complete list of Cutting Edge presenters.

Attendances remained strong at our luncheons with 3,200 members and guests attending the six events. Support for the Cutting Edge was strong, with registrations averaging 225 at each of the five events.

Your Club was able to allocate a total of $25,000 in surplus funds to educational causes supported by the AusIMM and the MCA. These funds were applied to professional development of mining students and to educational programs with teachers.

SPONSORS:

The Club welcomes a new Principal Sponsor for 2019 as global law firm, White & Case, has stepped up to join our great friends AMC Consultants. We say a sad farewell to Swann Global which has been with us since inception in 2001. The Club also welcomes back Melbourne-based leading gold producer St Barbara as a Foundation Member and Mets Ignited as the sponsor of our ‘Future of Mining’ student initiative.

NEW FACES in 2019:

The MMC Steering Committee is a hard-working group of volunteers – we welcome Newcrest executive Rebecca Irwin and veteran journalist and China-watcher Rowan Callick to the team. We farewell Sally Cox of BASF to a posting in Hong Kong, and she will transfer to our International Advisory Board.

There’s heaps more about the Club at our website  including photo galleries from our many events. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter, and if you are not a member, sign up  at the web page. It’s free!

Wishing all our members, supporters and sponsors (including our very supportive JV partners at the Minerals Council of Australia and the AusIMM) a prosperous 2019.

 

Richard Morrow
Chairman – Steering Committee
The Melbourne Mining Club