An innovative mining company is transitioning away from international production and returning to domestic processing.
Mineral Resources (MinRes) believes the future of the industry is in Australia, not East Asia.
“Over the last three years I have sort of shut down everything that we were doing offshore up in China, our procurement out there in fabricating,” managing director Chris Ellison said at an investor briefing.
“Why should we go and give away that opportunity, and that value and the supply chain – and then run around and just keep digging rock out of the ground?”
Ellison wants more customers to relocate operations closer to mine sites. Constructing more heavy vehicle infrastructure will be critical in achieving this goal.
“We are building more workshops, we are encouraging manufacturing companies down here – like the big road trains – to open up on those. The future [is] here for us in Western Australia and, first and foremost, over and above cost is shortage of supply so we need to be able to make sure that we can get the right product within the right timeframe so we can keep developing,” he said.
The remarks came after MinRes made a $403 million acquisition offer for Norwest Energy, which owns multiple gas assets across the Perth Basin.
“I want to create long-term businesses … [and] I see the real value in building these plants in WA,” Ellison said.
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