Future Directions in Australian Contract Mining

摘要

The Australian underground contract mining industry has grown fromrnalmost nothing 25 years ago to the point today where half the country 'srnunderground mines are using contractors to produce their ore and do theirrndevelopment.This growth was driven by the need to change poorrnindustrial relations and work practices in sectors of the industry,alongrnwith the needs of many small gold mine owners to preserve their capitalrnby using contractors to do their mining.The industry is dominated by twornmajor privately owned contractors with a number of other publicly andrnprivately owned contractors making up the balance of the market.Thisrnpaper discusses the important trends in the contract mining industry andrnthe directions it may take in the next few years.