The major 2025 IMARC event in Sydney, Australia, highlighted mining’s growing appetite for technology and laid out a wondrous buffet of new and emerging tech. But it also heard the industry’s “metabolism”, particularly in the West, was a persistent brake on both better mining business outcomes and faster development of next-gen mining tech firms.
In a rapidly evolving global mining and metals landscape, this could be a decisive factor in the next tectonic shift in the world’s 21st century mineral-based material supply chains.
China having already reset the board – outside of ferrous raw material supply – over the past 25 years.
“We can out-innovate” China, is the mantra from some Western mining investors who see technology as a crucial lever if the West is going to close considerable cost gaps China has opened up in material supply chains. But in nickel, rare earths and other areas the gaps have only been getting wider and recent evidence suggests China’s mining “innovation ecosystem” is maturing faster.
“After a week taking a closer look at Chinese mining technology I come away very impressed,” said a senior Australian mining executive after recently returning from a China visit. “I’ve been saying for a while that we’re going to need to take Chinese mining technology a lot more seriously because it is clearly moving a lot quicker than some of the established Western brands.”
IMARC took a deep dive into the mining and metals tech funding landscape, which has seen more than US$13.8 billion of financing and M&A over the past five years – representing an unprecedented level of interest in new and also more orthodox technology.
Western activity has mainly been driven by mining original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and diverse software companies (such as Constellation, Hexagon and Bentley Systems). Groups such as Australian Securities Exchange-listed IMDEX and Orica have also been busy – both as investors in start-ups and acquirers – while OEM and mining company corporate venture capital (CVC) vehicles have become increasingly active.
