Textile seminar seeks solutions for mining sector

“Representatives from the mining, oil and gas sectors; research institutions; government and textile, clothing and footwear (TCF) were all in attendance, with several such as those from Chevron travelling interstate to attend the workshop” explained Peter Kreitals, M-Tex Network Facilitator. “The workshop was extremely successful, certainly going beyond our expectations in terms of the discussion and outcomes generated” he continued.

Presentations were made from each sector, in addition to Government and research bodies, ahead of a facilitated discussion session allowing participants to interact and discuss four core questions relating to potential areas for improvement in current textiles and garments use in the mining and resource sector and how that could be best achieved.

“As participants learnt at the workshop, the mining and resources sector is confronted with a number of core priorities including cost management, environmental standards and requirements and a strong commitment to the health and safety of their workforce. This is made more challenging by the wide variety of processes, environments and mining styles that companies face. It is very clear that a “one size fits all” does not work for the mining and resource sectors” explained Peter.

“With this in mind the M-Tex Challenge Workshop identified a variety of areas where further collaborative work can be undertaken, including reducing the environmental footprint of mining, improving mineral and resource extraction, providing greater protection for workers, developing equipment with increased efficiency and comfort, and the replacement of steel and other more traditional products with innovative textiles and fibre products. As a result of these workshop discussions we will now be exploring several collaborative projects” noted Peter.

The core outcome was agreement across all those in attendance that the M-Tex Network is a valuable vehicle that can become the central forum/discussion group where TCF solution providers can speak directly with end users in the mining and resource sector.

The real value stems from the fact that the Network is all encompassing, comprising not only participants across all TCF and all mining and resources, but indeed the entire supply chain, ensuring that key messages are not being filtered or compromised as they move along the chain.

The core aims of M-Tex were seen as critical with the most important being to address the, disconnect between solution providers and end users and facilitating enhanced communication and collaborative cooperation amongst the key stakeholders.

“M-Tex will fulfill these requirements by developing a “technical hub” which will become a central repository for data and information relevant to the mining and TCF sectors” explained Peter.

TFIA