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By  Hannah Kilmore 27 November 2024 3 min read

Key points

  • Dr Vinicius Louro has been appointed as Science Leader, Sustainability, with a clear goal to help create a more sustainable mining industry.
  • He will propose and develop high-impact science-based solutions that are easy and effective enough for companies of all sizes to implement.
  • The road to sustainability is not just environmental, but also needs to address social licence and finding new ways to connect with communities.

An exploration geophysicist hailing from Brazil, Dr Vinicius (Vinnie) Louro is not new to the minerals sector.

Dr Vinicius Louro is applying his experience as exploration geophysicist to help create a more sustainable mining industry

As well as leading the Geophysics of the Lithosphere Research Group at the University of São Paulo (Brazil) while completing his studies, Vinnie spent several years consulting for the Brazilian mining industry.

On receiving his PhD, Vinnie was hired by the University of São Paulo as Assistant Professor for Applied Geophysics and Geotechnologies, where he worked for more than six years.

“Even though I’m now in Australia, I still maintain collaborations with research groups abroad. I work not only with sustainability, but also with mineral exploration, geological hazards, geotechnical studies, and geological evolution of large igneous provinces,” Vinnie says.

Our sustainable mining practices

Vinnie is drawing on his international experience to focus on creating a more sustainable mining industry.

“My role is to propose and develop high-impact, science-based solutions, especially in the upstream phase of mining. I want to make their application easy and effective enough for companies of all sizes to implement,” Vinnie says.

“I hope to help develop pathways for businesses to change their current business models from ‘actions to be reported’ to that of actual measures.”

Vinnie explains his priority when starting with us was to identify gaps. He wanted to understand what is truly happening in the Australian mining industry and how it is impacting the environment and society. He was also concerned about the issues we cannot avoid or don't yet know how to address. 

“Six months in, and I’ve set up connections, both with our communities and industry, and hopefully positioned us as a trusted adviser,” Vinnie says.

“Through these connections, the gaps are now mapped, and the research begins.”

A team of scientists now sits with Vinnie. They can begin the journey of producing the tools to address industry risks, challenges and opportunities, for safely and responsibly exploring and mining for strategic and critical minerals in Australia.

Not just environmental change, but social too

In Australia, community concerns influence the way the minerals industry operates and how it is regulated.

Our industry knowledge and scientific skills in measuring and modelling 'social licence' shows industry where to invest to develop genuine, trust-based relationships with community stakeholders.

“Sustainability is not just about mitigating climate change, it’s also about creating new ways to connect the industry with communities, especially Aboriginal and Torres Islander communities in Australia,” Vinnie says.

“Such measures should be able to turn the nearby communities from stakeholders into long-term, sustainable partners.”

The road to sustainability needs diverse approaches

We’re exploring sustainability from many angles, and each approach, or point of view can be applied to Vinnie’s work.

“Several groups approach the development of sustainable practices in mining in different ways,” Vinnie says.

“For example, the Valuing Sustainability Future Science Platform (FSP), gives us access to multidisciplinary research to get us to a more sustainable world.”

The multi-disciplinary Valuing Sustainability FSP works to develop science that will lead to positive outcomes for land, water, biodiversity and people. It consists of multiple targeted and linked research projects which bring together our researchers with a diverse range of partners and stakeholders.

Vinnie’s role as the Science Leader, Sustainability is new, and he has a lot of work to do to make mining a more diverse, fair and environmentally sustainable process, but with a diverse team and lots of tools at his disposal, he thinks we are on track, and his appointment is part of that journey.

“I am always keen to connect those interested, from industry or community, to discuss and collaborate on opportunities to make mining more sustainable, fair and inclusive,” Vinnie says.

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