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"WA&rsquo;s exploration sector needs to invest more in decarbonising their entire supply chain as pressure to meet environmental targets ramps up, local mining experts say. Bronwyn Barnes, the chair of ASX-listed Indiana Resources, said despite WA being a world leader in mineral exploration there was still a lot of work to do to assess the full environmental impact across all areas of the business. Ms Barnes said it had become an increasingly important issue to investors and if the State&rsquo;s explorers could get it right WA could use it as a competitive advantage globally. &ldquo;What I&rsquo;m starting to see from final off-takers is more questions around the transparency of the whole supply chain,&rdquo; she said at a resources and technology panel yesterday hosted by Pitcher Partners. Ms Barnes, pictured left, believed investment in technology could offer the best solutions, however, she said the local industry as a whole were yet to embrace discussions about the decarbonisation of exploration. She said with current exploration so dependent of heavy diesel and short term work across a wide spread of land, these talks were hard to have. &ldquo;From an exploration perspective that&rsquo;s one of the challenges we still have to consider,&rdquo; Ms Barnes said. &ldquo;But there&rsquo;s an opportunity here to look at the complete supply chain from cradle to grave and not just the final production piece.&rdquo; VentureX managing director Bill Beament, pictured centre, said for WA&rsquo;s mining sector to be sustainable and meet environmental expectations, as well as be globally competitive, it needed to use energy differently. &ldquo;We need to change our energy mix, it&rsquo;s the only way we&rsquo;re going to make a massive difference,&rdquo; he said. VentureX &mdash; Mr Beament&rsquo;s latest venture after leaving Northern Star Resources &mdash; has a focus on base metal underground mining assets in the Pilbara region. He said 70 per cent of greenhouse gases in underground mines were derived from power generation. &ldquo;If you&rsquo;re in a future facing industry at the moment, our natural competitor now is Canada because of their renewable energy sources,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a huge selling point for the global investors.&rdquo; WA mining billionaire Chris Ellison, pictured right, said investment in technology and innovation would be crucial for the mining industry to be sustainable. Mr Ellison, who is the managing director of Mineral Resources, said without major commitments to innovation and technology his companies projects wouldn&rsquo;t have succeeded. "
<https://thewest.com.au/business/mining/miners-flag-need-to-reduce-carbon-footprint-ng-b882006519z>