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MINING THE FUTURE
ANDREW GOVEY
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
AUSTRALIANPROSPECTORS
AND MINERS HALL OF FAME
Recent new experiential attractions have seen visitor numbers to
the facility grow.
A future program of national outreach education activity
will have trained outreach officers, located in each state and
territory, visiting primary schools to introduce children to basic
mining concepts and the everyday uses of Australian minerals.
Also, visits to secondary schools will see these school children
informed about the significant economic and social benefits
flowing from the Australian minerals industry as well as expose
them to various mining industry career options and respective
entry pre-requisites. School incursion activity will be reinforced
via a world-class interactive website and mobile applications with
links to government, industry organisations and associated bodies.
The facility in Kalgoorlie will become a physical and virtual
showcase for the Australian minerals industry, with various walk
through ‘Life of Mine’ experiences, portraying the latest advances
in mining technology. Displaying mining activity in this way
allows those who visit the facility to understand the various
sequential steps in the mining process and gain a sense of the
quantum of investment in the form of royalties, goods and
services, payroll and numerous other taxes paid. It also provides
an opportunity for the minerals industry to showcase possible
career options, an improving safety record, ongoing commitment
to the environment and advances in energy management.
The MHOF will continue to stage events and conferences as
it has each year since its opening in 2001. These include school
excursions and teacher professional development weekends,
the CME Surface Mine Emergency Response Competition and
WA School of Mines collegiate games. Collectively, these activities
will help Australians understand the inextricable links between
minerals industry activities and their current standard of living,
so that when they decide on a possible career option or exercise
a vote on polling day, they do so from an informed perspective.
The MHOF is a not-for-profit organisation and is funded
solely through visitor admission, mining industry donation and
membership. Please visit MHOF’s website if you would like to
assist to support this facility.
Whilst societal interest in the intricacies of mining might broadly
wax and wane according to the economic cycle, at least one not-for-
profit organisation has, for a decade now, been taking a leading role
in educating people, young and old, about the vital pulse mining
provides to Australia and beyond.
In this article the Australian Prospectors and Miners Hall
of Fame’s CEO Andrew Govey outlines the extraordinary reach
the modest Kalgoorlie-based centre achieves, and the innovative
mediums now being embraced to freshen and expand mining’s story
to today’s varied audiences, especially school communities.
The primary objective of the Australian Prospectors and
Miners Hall of Fame is to inform all Australians about the
past, present and future of the Australian minerals industry.
Since opening in 2001, more than 430,000 people have visited
the Mining Hall of Fame (MHOF). Following the launch of the
outreach program in 2006, more than 6,800 West Australian
school children have been visited by an outreach officer
and more than 6,500 have visited the facility in Kalgoorlie.
Walking through this life of mine
GOVERNMENT
START
FINISH
YEAR
1
YEAR
30
$$$ UP FRONT
INVESTMENT IN
INFRASTRUCTURE
$$$ ONGOING
ROYALTIES AND
TAXES PAID
GEOLOGY
SURVEY
DRILLING
LOAD & HAUL PROCESSING REHAB & LEGACY
EXPLORATION GEOTECHNICAL MINE PLANNING BLASTING
CRUSHING WASTE DUMPS & TSF
MINERAL USES AND
CAREER
OPPORTUNITIES
IMPROVEMENTS IN
SAFETY, ENVIROMENT,
AND ENERGY
WALK THROUGH ‘LIFE OF MINE’ EXPERIENCE
MINESITE 2011
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