At last year’s dinner, we welcomed The Hon. Courtney Houssos MLC, Minister for Finance, Minister for Domestic Manufacturing and Government Procurement, and Minister for Natural Resources as our very special guest. We’d also like to thank the many ministers and Members of Parliament who joined us.
2023 HSEC People’s Choice Award
NSW has some of the world’s leading mining operations and some of the best practitioners in health and safety, environmental management and community engagement.
The winners of the NSW Minerals Council’s Health, Safety, Environment and Community (HSEC) Awards were announced in August.
We recognised the most outstanding innovations and contributions to a responsible mining industry across four categories. These winners are:
Health Excellence
Ampcontrol, DRIFTEX Battery Electric Vehicle for Underground Mining Operations
Safety Excellence
Newcrest Mining, Cadia’s Stringer Chain Telehandler
Environmental Excellence
Aurelia Metals, Recordable Environmental Incident Frequency Rate (REIFR) Reporting
Community Excellence
Evolution Mining & Wiradjuri Condobolin Corporation, Galari Agricultural Company
The HSEC People’s Choice Award was chosen from these four category winners.
We polled 500 industry colleagues at the NSW Mining HSEC Conference.
HSEC People’s Choice Award Winner
Ampcontrol, DRIFTEX Battery Electric Vehicle for Underground Mining Operations
Mining supply business Ampcontrol won the Health Excellence Award for the development of their new DRIFTEX vehicles. The DRIFTEX vehicles are a new generation of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) specifically designed for underground mining.
The health benefits of the DRIFTEX system are the reduction in diesel fuel emissions within an underground mining environment, with the added benefit of reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
Mining supply business Ampcontrol won the Health Excellence Award for the development of their new DRIFTEX vehicles. The DRIFTEX vehicles are a new generation of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) specifically designed for underground mining.
The health benefits of the DRIFTEX system are the reduction in diesel fuel emissions within an underground mining environment, with the added benefit of reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
2023 Outstanding Contribution Award
Outstanding Contribution to NSW Mining Award
Sponsored by The Bloomfield Group
Chris Lauritzen
General Manager – Resource Development, MACH Energy Australia
Chris commenced with MACH Energy in 2016, where he was appointed the General Manager role following the acquisition of the Mount Pleasant Project from Rio Tinto.
Prior to that, he had a long history of achievement and experience over 30 years in mining operations, mineral exploration, resource assessment, mine planning, and more.
With humble roots starting as an exploration geologist in the Gunnedah Basin in 1980, Chris has developed a stellar career helping to develop a range of projects and work in operations that have gone on to be significant contributors to the state and national economies, including Maules Creek, Coal Cliff, Western Main, Howick (now part of Hunter Valley Operations), and more.
In 2000, Chris worked in Indonesia for seven years and then returned to Rio Tinto before joining BHP as its Global Coal Commodity Expert in Singapore.
Chris is now part of the executive leadership team at MACH Energy Australia and looks after major approvals and government relations. He is known by colleagues as a steady hand, a thoughtful professional and a calm and experienced leader.
Chris is a strong contributor to the wider mining industry through his work as a valued member of the NSW Minerals Council’s Executive Committee.
He is also a fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Previous Winners
Fiona Robertson
For more than 30 years, Fiona has combined her understanding of resources and finance to work with emerging resource companies as a banker, CFO and non-executive director, successfully guiding growth-oriented businesses through the transition from juniors to ASX 200 producers.
Fiona’s contribution to the profile and support for women in mining in NSW has been outstanding. Her enthusiasm and hard work have been key to building the NSW WIMnet Committee, which she chaired from 2013 to 2015.
WIMnet launched its first Mentoring Program in 2015. And her legacy continues with WIMnet Chairs and Committee members developing under Fiona’s leadership… as the mentoring program goes from strength-to-strength.
She has also been a significant contributor to our Women in Mining Awards, guiding and judging at both the State and National levels over many years.
John Richards
John commenced with Bloomfields in 2002, was appointed Managing Director and CEO in 2010, and then Chairman of the Group in 2016. In addition to his corporate responsibilities, a feature of John’s career has been his extensive engagement in the broader mining industry and in the local community.
John’s contribution to the NSW Minerals Council includes many years of distinguished service on the Council’s Executive Committee, as well as a two year term as Council Chair. He also successfully chaired the Upper Hunter Mining Dialogue, where his positive local community profile and contribution helped to improve engagement between the industry and the community in the Upper Hunter region.
By any measure, John’s career in the NSW mining sector has been highly successful. He is one of our most respected and distinguished industry representatives, affectionately regarded by his teams and industry colleagues for his thoughtfulness, his humour and his massive contribution to The Bloomfield Group, our sector, and the community.
Highlights from last year
Check out these highlights from last year’s event!
We would like to thank our event sponsors for their continued support.
Gold | Naming Rights
Yancoal is a leading Australian coal producer, producing a mix of premium thermal, semi-soft coking and PCI coals.
Since 2004, we have generated over $10 billion in Foreign Direct Investment for Australia, and we now own or operate nine coal mines across NSW, Queensland and WA.
In 2022, these operations produced 44 million tonnes of saleable coal, which we sold into 13 markets (mainly located in Asia). Yancoal is publicly listed on the ASX and HKEx.
Silver Sponsors
Established in 2011, Evolution Mining has grown into a globally relevant gold producer that prospers through the cycle, with a reputation for delivering value to all stakeholders. Today, we operate five mines in Australia and Canada with a portfolio vision of up to eight assets, in Tier 1 jurisdictions, generating superior returns.Our priority is to keep our people safe and well, provide a diverse and respectful workplace and create sustainable value for all stakeholders in an environmentally and socially responsible way. With a bold team focused on financial discipline and a high-performing culture, where values and reputation are non-negotiables, Evolution has a bright future.
Komatsu develops and supplies technologies, equipment and services for the construction, mining, forklift, industrial and forestry markets.
For more than a century, the company has been creating value for its customers through manufacturing and technology innovation, partnering with others to empower a sustainable future where people, business and the planet thrive together. Front-line industries worldwide use Komatsu solutions to develop modern infrastructure, extract fundamental minerals, maintain forests and create consumer products.
The company’s global service and distributor networks support customer operations to enhance safety and productivity while optimizing performance.
Newmont (ASX: NEM) is the world’s leading gold company, a producer of copper, zinc, lead and silver and Australia’s only molybdenum producer. The company’s world-class portfolio of assets, prospects and talent is anchored in favorable mining jurisdictions in Australia, Africa, Latin America, North America and Papua New Guinea. Newmont is the only gold producer listed in the S&P 500 Index and is widely recognized for its principled environmental, social and governance practices. The company is an industry leader in value creation, supported by robust safety standards, superior execution and technical expertise.
Bronze Sponsors
Established in 2016, MACH Energy’s Mount Pleasant Operation is the Upper Hunter’s youngest open-cut coal mine, delivering first coal in December 2018.
Characterised by high quality coals, a low-strip ratio and high-processing yield, Mount Pleasant contains some of the most attractive coal resources in the Hunter Valley.
We recognise that high quality coal is an important component in the transition to a lower carbon emissions world. MACH Energy is in the business of delivering high quality coal to local and global customers through leading innovative mining, environmental and community practices. We are “powering our future with reliable energy.”
The Bloomfield Group is a proud and successful Australian mining and engineering group.
Australian owned and operated, Bloomfield has been part of the Hunter community for more than 85 years and employs hundreds of local people.
The Bloomfield Group operates two open-cut coal mines in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales. These operations include Rix’s Creek Mine northwest of Singleton, and Bloomfield Mine east of Maitland.
Whitehaven Coal is proud to be the leading Australian coal producer.
We operate six mines in the Gunnedah Coal Basin of NSW and Bowen Basin of QLD. Our operating assets are complemented by two high‑quality, near-term and large-scale development assets, being Vickery, near Gunnedah, and Winchester South, near Moranbah.
We’re proudly local, with approximately 75% of our NSW workforce living in the towns around our operational footprint. We understand the importance of mining to regional communities and over our more than 20-year history, we have developed a reputation for excellence in project delivery, safe operation, environmental performance and supporting local economies.
RZ Resources is an Australian-owned critical minerals company with mining and processing capabilities, making us one of the few emerging mineral development companies able to establish sovereign supply chains in Australia for local customers and those in the U-S, Japan, and Europe.
RZ’s flagship proposed mine, Copi, features one of the largest mineral deposits in the world, with the capacity to produce critical minerals including titanium, zircon, and rare earths, while delivering long-term benefits and value for our local, national, and global communities for decades to come.
RZ Resources also owns a mineral processing plant in Brisbane, which is the only operational plant of its type on Australia’s east coast.
