World Gold 2013 – Challenges in the gold mining industry
Following the World Gold Conferences held biannually in Calgary, Cairns, Johannesburg and Montreal since 2005, World Gold 2013 will be held in Brisbane, Australia, with the theme Challenges in Gold Mining. This conference is unique in that it includes all aspects of gold mining, including exploration, geosciences, mining (including geotechnical aspects), metallurgy (processing), environmental and other related themes.
Discoveries continue to be made around the world. Both well-established gold-producing countries and new frontiers are scenes of recent successes. One trend over the last two decades has been the greater proportion of discoveries that are gold plus-copper or only gold-containing compared to the historically dominant gold-only style. The industry is redeveloping brownfields, revisiting older (previously submarginal) as well as looking at poly-metallic gold deposits with lower gold content. These deposits usually have higher energy costs and a significant need for water. They might also experience labour market problems, which can be country or region specific. The challenge is to ensure sustainability as well as to provide technically sound mining and processing options to satisfy both the shareholders and financiers. As new countries become more prominent in the gold market each will have an increasing influence on the industry. Productivity remains one of the mining industries biggest challenges, and the gold mining industry is very sensitive to productivity due to gold price fluctuations and currencies.
A selection of some 60 papers reflects these challenges and related topics. In addition it was possible to secure some of the best plenary and keynote speakers in the industry who manage various gold and gold-related companies, and they will report about various aspects of their companies’ challenges in the industry. World Gold 2013 presents an important opportunity to hear first-hand experiences of a dynamic industry that is rapidly adapting to changes. The World Gold 2013 Conference Chair, Dr Leon Lorenzen, FAusIMM, Snowden Group, invites all interested on behalf of the World Gold 2013 organising committee, to attend the conference end of September 2013, hosted by the AusIMM in Brisbane/Australia and to register as soon as possible to ensure being best equipped to successfully manage challenges in the gold industry in the future.
