Brian Bradford, managing director of Reed, visited China in June this year to gauge interest from that country’s leading mining companies and associations in attending AIMEX ’03. Working with Austrade, who facilitated a number of high level meetings, Bradford walked away with a picture of a country whose mining industry is poised for rapid growth and is keen to access the expertise and know-how of the well-established and respected Australian market.
“China is an important market for the Australian mining industry,” he said. “Our expertise and innovative approach to various mining disciplines are highly sought after around the world and of particular benefit to the developing markets like China.
“It is within these markets that we can offer considerable experience and contribute to the advancement of the industry.”
Bradford said an increasing number of Australian companies, many of which would be at AIMEX ’03, were already doing business with the Chinese, who saw Australia at the leading edge of technology. China had vast mineral deposits, with more than 150 different types of minerals with proven reserves. The rapid economic growth experienced in China over the past decade had seen the country become a significant producer, consumer and exporter of coal. However, financial constraints, the lack of adequate safety measures and the absence of high level expertise had seen the industry develop largely unchecked until recently, Bradford said.
He said as the Chinese Government moved to clean up the industry – in 2000 it closed down no less than 40,000 illegal coal mines – large mining companies were looking offshore for expertise that would enable them to raise productivity levels and compete in the world market. Improved productivity and the streamlining of extraction processes had returned an increase in coal exports in 2000 of 47% compared with that of the previous year - a result which had further contributed to the improved outlook for the industry.
Bradford said coal was mined predominantly in the north-western and northern regions, with the majority of activity being underground mining. In longwall mines, both slicing and top-caving techniques were used, however, there was a trend toward top-caving with larger mining companies such as the Yankuang Group, which operated multiple mines, implementing the technique across its major sites. Top caving was believed to be more effective in extracting coal from thick seams.
Bradford said Yankuang seams ran hundreds of metres in depth and averaged 9m thickness. The company predicted annual production of a single workface using this method would increase from 6.06 million tonnes per annum in 1999 to 8Mtpa in the near future.
As the industry grew the requirement for a greater level of expertise, installation of new technology and use of superior equipment also increased, Bradford said. It was in these areas that AIMEX ‘03 came into its own, providing the Chinese mining markets with an ideal window to the future.
“The industry in China is becoming more sophisticated, particularly with the investment from foreign companies, however, there is still a vast chasm between the infrastructure found in Chinese coal mines and operations in the more developed markets,” he said.
“Australia is a preferred trading partner and AIMEX is viewed as an excellent opportunity to access the market here and garner the expertise and innovation of the Australian experience.
“My visit to China was very positive with optimism and enthusiasm for the future of the mining industry clearly evident in the meetings held with key organisations, mining companies and government departments.
“Reed has a dedicated agent in China who will be working actively to encourage both mining and equipment manufacturing companies to attend AIMEX. Already we have had expressions of interest for delegations to visit AIMEX and expect to see a strong contingent from China in Sydney in 2003.”
AIMEX ’03 will be held at Homebush, Sydney 9-12 September, 2003.
