PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Australia’s mining equipment, technology and services (METS) sector would be vital to increasing the country’s competitive strength, Industry and Science Minister Ian Macfarlane said this week.

Speaking at the Austmine conference, in Brisbane, Macfarlane noted that during 2012/13, the METS sector employed some 386 000 people and generated about A$90-billion in revenue.

“In the recent past, growth in Australia’s METS sector benefited from the mining investment boom that the nation experienced over the past decade. As resource projects make the transition to the operational phase, there will be opportunities in production and maintenance activities as well.

“METS firms are well positioned to support these activities,” the Minister said.

He added that several of the production and maintenance opportunities presented by the shift from construction to operational phase would be long-lasting because projects have an operational life of some 20 to 40 years.

“In addition, as ore grades fall and mines get deeper, there will be a need for new technology solutions. This will provide future opportunities for METS firms.”

Macfarlane noted that given the current commodity climate, miners were seeking to increase productivity and decrease costs, adding that adopting new productivity-enhancing technologies could contribute to this.

“This is one area Australian METS firms are well placed to provide the solutions given their high investment in research and development and technology.”

However, Macfarlane noted that opportunities also existed offshore for Australian METS companies to establish operations and to export products and services, especially to markets in Latin America, Central Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

“I know you are already doing pretty well in this area, with some 55% of Australian METS firms exporting A$15-billion in goods and services every year, and some 41% of these exporters having offices or operations offshore.

“But there are encouraging prospects for further offshore opportunities.”