In today’s post, Amira Global CEO Dr Jacqui Coombes answers the question of WHY Amira is building a Global Alliance and WHAT it means for Members.

Today, Amira Global announced a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Australia’s FrontierSI. This exciting agreement marries space and mining technology, bringing enormous potential for change in the way we mine. 

In announcing the agreement with FrontierSI, Amira Global CEO Dr Jacqui Coombes said the power for transformational change was in the sharing of knowledge, not just the technology. 

“Amira Global is currently building a global network of allied organisations to help deliver new data, information, technology and innovation to our Members,” Dr Coombes said. 

“The MOU with FrontierSI is an exciting addition to this group of visionary companies.” 

A global alliance: what it means for Members 

Since taking the reigns of Amira in 2019, Dr Coombes and the team have been building a network of allied organisation to help Members in various ways. 

One of the key examples is the CoLabs Initiative, which has involved signing MOUs with organisations offering test lab facilities.  

These facilities span the mine value chain and include automation and robotics precincts, underground and open pit test beds, laboratories, digital spaces and innovation hubs. 

The network of testing facilities can:  

• accelerate collaboration across the ecosystem 
• develop pathways for projects to enable accelerated translation and implementation of R&D outcomes 
• develop and strengthen pathways for scaling and commercialisation of R&D outcomes 
• de-risk R&D outcomes ahead of on-site deployment. 

Amira’s CoLab Initiative is designed to develop pathways to implement R&D and innovation.  

This is one of Amira’s primary goals for Members; we want to help our Members to leverage research allocations to fund new technology that can be implemented with the least disruption into sites. 

Not just CoLabs 

Amira Members are striving to meet challenges such as tailings management, rising energy costs and the net zero transition while heightening efficiency and improving safety. 

One aspect of the answer to those challenges is increased, smarter collaboration and partnerships between key stakeholders of the industry. 

At this moment Amira is working on agreements with universities across the mining regions, R&D centres, innovation hubs, and testing centres to create the Global Alliance, which will speed up the deployment of new technologies and innovations. 

Personal message from Dr Coombes 

Amira’s purpose in establishing these collaborative facilities – or CoLabs—is to provide researchers and solution providers with opportunities to showcase R&D outcomes and innovations on a global scale, and to the broader industry – and for our Members to engage in the testing, trialling, and upscaling of R&D+I outcomes. 

As the world begins to awaken and open up again, we are excited by the opportunities that emerge from bringing great minds together.

I personally can’t wait to see the emerging technologies and to connecting with others in these spaces. 

Dr Jacqui Coombes