Are Stranded Deposits About to Get a Second Look?
There are deposits sitting untouched across Australia right now. Not because the resource isn't there - because the numbers don't stack up. Too remote. Too expensive to staff and operate. Too high risk to put in front of a board and expect a yes.
For years, these projects have sat in the "too hard" basket. Technically viable, commercially marginal.
That might be changing.
What's Happening Globally
Large scale investment in autonomous mining technology is no longer experimental. It's operational. Zero entry fleets, remote operation centres, reduced site footprint - these aren't pilot programs anymore. They're running at scale in some of the world's most demanding mining environments.
The impact on cost per tonne is real. When you remove the logistical complexity of keeping large workforces in remote locations, reduce equipment downtime through better data and predictive maintenance, and run operations around the clock without shift constraints - the economics of a project start to look different.
Not every project. But some of the ones that didn't stack up before are worth a second look.
The Tier 1 and Everyone Else Problem
Here's the honest reality. Tier 1 miners have been building toward this for years. They have the capital, the internal capability, and the long-term horizon to invest in automation properly. They're already seeing the returns.
The gap is in the tier 2 and tier 3 space - and especially among contractors. These are the businesses that do the actual work on a huge proportion of Australian mining projects. Drilling, blasting, load and haul, site development. The operational backbone of the industry.
Most of them are still running the same model they were ten years ago. Not because the people aren't smart - but because the pathway to adoption isn't clear, the internal capability isn't there, and no one has built the roadmap for them.
That's a problem for them commercially. And it's a problem for the industry if the contractors executing the work can't keep pace with where the operators are heading.
What Actually Has to Change
Buying technology isn't the answer on its own. That's where a lot of businesses get stuck - they invest in systems and don't get the value out because the operational framework behind it hasn't changed.
The real shift is building toward a model where your technology, your people, and your processes are aligned. Where data from the field is actually being used to make decisions. Where remote capability isn't just a service offering on a website - it's a genuine operational competency.
That takes more than a software purchase. It takes a clear picture of where you are now, where the gaps are, and a realistic roadmap to close them.
The Question Worth Asking
If the cost economics of remote and autonomous operations continue to improve - and the evidence suggests they will - the projects that don't stack up today may look very different in five years.
The contractors and operators who are building toward modern, technology-enabled operations now will be the ones positioned to work on those projects when they come.
The ones waiting will be catching up.
It's worth asking honestly: where does your operation actually sit on that curve?
Wyatt Zacher is the Managing Director of Automate Innovation. He works with mining and industrial operations on the ground - understanding the problem, getting buy-in from the people doing the work, and implementing the fix. Technology, process, and people all in one engagement.