Abstract

Australia is the world’s top gold, nickel, iron ore, lead, zinc and uranium, and is ranked in the top five in many other important minerals. Extension to existing resources will continue to support well-established local production. There are perceptions by some that Australia is a mature exploration destination where the easily won near-surface deposits were largely discovered many decades ago. In recent years, Australia faces increasing global competition for investment spending in all jurisdictions in which mineral exploration is encouraged. Many regional communities face the threat of losing their main economic driver as a number of long-term mines are reaching the end of their economic life. However, given the trend of increasing mineral demand due to the 4th industrial revolution, it is considered that Korea is also an opportunity to acquire global competitiveness of geoscience and mining technology by smart and digital mining, and by ICT-convergence technology R&D.

Keywords Australia, mineral exploration, deposits, global competition, ICT-convergence technology