After attending the Gold Coast Investor Showcase last week, it was clear that the exploration and mining industry had a plethora of junior companies that only held a handful of tenements. Therefore, it was not easy to justify the implementation of a powerful tenement management system such as PX4.
Many of our clients including Dynamic Metals who were at the showcase, manage hundreds of tenements within PX4 which make compliance and reporting easier. However, the majority of tenure management for junior companies is done by consultants and after speaking to various directors and managers, some were handling reporting better than others.
So how can juniors take advantage of our system?
As I began to open up more about this issue, I needed to consult one of my colleagues for advice on how we could help these junior companies. He suggested I offer the new Communications Module for recording meetings, in person conversations, emails and phone calls in addition to the Agreements Module to manage any deadline or obligation between two or more parties. This includes a joint venture, deed, lease, MOU, Native Title arrangement, insurance policy or any other commercial agreement.
Naturally, the conversation overflowed to another colleague who was previously a tenement manager herself. She mentioned that the best part of even small operators using PX4 is they maintain strict compliance which gains the trust of government for future acquisitions which is severely underrated.
Non-compliance can be a make or break for all players in the exploration and mining industry.
It was during this communication that I was reminded of the power of PX4 and the other benefits it offers its customers. And since the application for an exploration licence requires greater disclosure of the programs of works the applicant intends to undertake, the disturbance activities often overlap with existing landholders, traditional custodians, and local communities where there is both a social and regulatory obligation to engage with stakeholder.
What can be easily missed is that it also makes strong business sense to keep all stakeholders informed as well, because it helps with a smoother operation with fewer delays.
According to the Hetherington Group – a trusted client of ours in Queensland – an exploration and mining company can establish a “social licence to operate” by engaging with communities and undertaking the appropriate degree of community engagement. This is a hot button topic at the moment because it is hard to win, but very easy to lose.
As of late 2022 for example, NSW licence holders are now obliged to make community engagement information publicly available in a bid to increase transparency, and the Victorian Government has listed the key components for a Community Engagement Plan as part of mining licence work plans.
By using our PX4 to capture this crucial reporting component is an effortless way to document conversations and files, which in turn would be linked to relevant stakeholders, agreements, tenures, projects, and land parcels. And if there is a specific workflow required by a customer, we can work with them to optimise the use of PX4 or scripting additional workflows further unlocking its power. Not to mention, the ability to maintain oversight of tenement obligations, which is a great bonus – you could retain your tenement management consultant, invite them into PX4 and have them update the environment on your behalf.
So it’s no coincidence that I mentioned the Hetherington Group because in Queensland, they have found this solution beneficial to them and we hope to extend the benefits of PX4 to junior exploration companies and the exploration and mining industry as a whole.
Because we at PX4 Software listen, and proactive communication builds trust in the exploration and mining industry.
