As a networking and advocacy organisation that’s been a part of industry for more than 12 years, the Bowen Basin Mining Club has the privilege of interacting with an extremely broad cross-section of Queensland’s resources sector.

At every one of our events, we meet hundreds of the good people that keep our industry in its place at the top of Australia’s economy – from the ones who solve big problems by engineering smart systems to avoid the industry’s next fatality, to the ones who look far into our future and see a need that will change the way we operate.

A particular favourite of mine is the Queensland Mining Awards – which this year will be back and bigger than ever as part of the Queensland Mining and Engineering Exhibition in Mackay. When we started the Awards in 2014, we set out to discover the success stories of industry contractors, who didn’t have any other dedicated channel for recognition. Over time and by popular demand, the Awards have expanded to include producers, as well as introducing important categories like safety, environment and collaboration.

But the best part of the Queensland Mining Awards? It’s uncovering the small businesses who are making a big difference to industry.

Businesses like SoilCyclers, owned by the impressive Alison Price, who is changing the way sites think about rehabilitation. Or KAM Mining Products, a 3-person business that’s taking on the major OEMs by developing an Australian-made track adjuster cannon for dozers. Then there’s GreaseBoss, or Universal Field Robots – Queensland-based companies that are now exporting technology products to the world.

There’s also the businesses who we’ve watched grow exponentially in an otherwise challenging business environment, like SMW Group, our very first Mining Contractor of the Year and also a finalist in this year’s awards, proving their staying power. Or Polymathian, who have made an impression in the Productivity category for several years running with their innovative mathematical approaches to streamlining operations on site and across the supply chain.

I could go on – but there’s not enough room in this column to do justice to the entire industry. When confronted with anything from pandemics to unexpected legislation or even a decarbonising world, the spirit of our industry is to just keep on doing what we do best. Needless to say, it’s an industry that I’m proud to champion through the Queensland Mining Awards, and one that I’ll support for many years to come.

Jodie CurrieDirector, Bowen Basin Mining Club