Far from being “yesterday’s hero”, the resources sector would continue to be a major driver of Australian innovation, he said.

“While there is much to like about the Turnbull government’s Innovation Statement, it was diluted by reporting that mining and innovation are somehow incompatible in the 21st century,” Roche said.

“Lost in the ‘ideas boom’ excitement is the fact that mining is a living and breathing exemplar of innovation and ideas.”

Data released by the Minerals Council of Australia has confirmed the sector as a prolific inventor and developer of specialised technologies, with 6,539 Australian mining inventions filed for patent between 1994-2011 by operating miners, the Mining Equipment, Technology and Services (METS) sector, and publicly-funded entities like CSIRO.

“The fact is that mining spends nearly $3 billion on research and development annually in Australia – or put another way – it is responsible for almost $1 in every $6 spent by business on R&D,” he said.

“On the evening news we saw examples of the wonders of 3D printing, for example creating replacement body parts.

“Did anyone stop to consider that those 3D printed body parts are composed of minerals and petroleum products?”

Roche applauded the Innovation Statement’s focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education.

“We have been involved in the uptake of STEM in Queensland schools through the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy, which last week celebrated its tenth anniversary in the company of the Minister for Innovation, Science and the Digital Economy, Leanne Enoch.”

Connecting 34 secondary schools across Queensland, QMEA is Australia’s largest and most successful industry-education schools partnership between the resources sector and the state government.

“Far from being yesterday’s hero, there is no industry sector more fundamental to the future of Queensland, especially in terms of generating new thinking and ideas,” Roche said.