“Today’s society places an ever greater and more diverse burden on those charged with the management of mining and metallurgical enterprises. This problem is not peculiar to Australia; it is global … and warrants a global solution,” conference co-chairs Richard Knight and Don Larkin said in an address.

Knight and Larkin said a major outcome of the conference would be the development of a Mine Managers Handbook 2007, to be collated from the input of conference participants.

“Global standards have been or are being developed covering a wide range of matters ranging from ore reserves reporting to sustainable development. Such is the complexity of our industry today and the diversity of the responsibilities borne by mine management that a Mine Manager’s Handbook must necessarily be the work of more than one author, or even one professional body.

“To be truly worthwhile, it must encapsulate the collective management wisdom of mining professionals around the world.”

The conference, which ended yesterday, comprised 11 high-level sessions, combining the “hard” issues, from project evaluation through development and operations, with the “soft” issues of human resources and sustainable development.

Officially opening the conference on Monday, Parliamentary Secretary for Industry, Tourism and Resources Bob Baldwin told delegates that government and industry need to work together to address the skills shortage and other challenges facing the resources sector.

“We are planning beyond the current commodities boom to ensure the long-term sustainability of Australia's resources industry,” Baldwin said.

“We are creating partnerships to address the skills shortages that have plagued the industry and we are working to improve the overall quality of mine management expertise."

Keep watching International Longwall News to see what some of the industry presenters had to say about effective mine management.