Far greater use of microbes and the development of molecular nanotechnology are two of the main directions in which the mining industry of the future is expected to go, according to Dr Bruce Hobbs who heads the CSIRO's Exploration and Mining division in Perth, Western Australia*. If so, such developments would totally change the nature of mining operations, replacing earthmoving by chemical treatment.Dr Hobbs believes mining's long-term profitability will ride on quantum change developments like these. He observes that right now companies need to increase productivity 4 to 8 percent per annum just to stay where they are on the cost curve. However, he believes they will never be able to achieve that using current technologies in five to ten years' time.
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