Australian Mining sat down with Genus general manager, commercial Eoin Gorman to discuss electrification and the future of the sector.
Across Australia’s mining sector, the race to electrification is accelerating. Every miner is looking for the fastest route to decarbonise operations, replace diesel dependency, and secure reliable power to remote sites.
But speed comes with risk. These projects are vast in scale, technically complex and time-critical, and they’re being delivered in an environment where experience is scarce, the clock is ticking, and the cost of getting it wrong is significant. The challenge isn’t ambition, it’s execution.
To unpack the challenges and opportunities in this high-stakes transition, Australian Mining sat down with Genus general manager, commercial Eoin Gorman. Genus is one of the companies with deep, hands-on experience delivering large-scale transmission and power infrastructure in remote and complex environments.
Gorman discussed why electrification is as much about trust and collaboration as it is about technology, and what it will take for miners to stay ahead in the race to net zero.
“Power and transmission have always been specialist fields,” Gorman said. “For decades, only a small group of people truly understood how to design and deliver large-scale electrical infrastructure. That deep, tacit knowledge is now retiring out of the system.”
New people are entering the market from civil, rail and tunnelling backgrounds, bringing valuable skills but often missing the hands-on experience needed to navigate complex electrical networks. The result is a growing knowledge gap at precisely the moment the sector is being asked to move faster than ever.
“It’s not about capability or willpower. It’s about collective experience,” Gorman said. “As the first generation of electrification projects get built, that experience will return to the market. But right now, many in the market are learning while doing and that slows everyone down.”
The sector’s goals are extraordinary: decarbonising major mining operations within a decade. And achieving that lofty goal will require extraordinary approaches.
“To achieve extraordinary goals, you need to do extraordinary things,” Gorman said. “We can’t keep using the same delivery models and expect faster results.
“Electrification requires a different mindset; one built on early collaboration and genuine trust between partners.”
In other words, technology isn’t the bottleneck. Coordination is.
Collaboration as a risk-reduction strategy
De-risking electrification starts long before a single pole is erected or a battery commissioned. It begins at the planning table, when miners, utilities, government and infrastructure partners sit down to define a shared outcome.
“We’re seeing mature clients recognise the gap,” Gorman said. “They’re bringing delivery partners in earlier through early contractor involvement [ECI] processes to develop the project together to align budgets, schedules and risk before committing to build.”
This collaborative approach helps prevent the scenario of over-engineered, under-funded projects that stall before reaching financial close.
“It’s not just about the engineering,” Gorman said. “It’s about giving shareholders and stakeholders confidence that what’s being promised can actually be delivered.”
A recent Pilbara project demonstrates the impact of this approach. Initially deemed unviable due to cost, the miner opened the door to early collaboration.
“Through an ECI process, Genus worked with the client to reassess the design and execution model,” Gorman said. “The result was a significant cost reduction and a project that went from dead to delivered.”
Behind that turnaround was one key ingredient: trust.
“There was an unwritten understanding between both sides,” Gorman said. “We were aligned on the goal, not the contract. That’s what made it work.”
In another large-scale transmission project, one of the biggest built for a miner in a generation, trust again proved decisive. Despite an EPC contract that offered little flexibility, both parties chose to operate as partners.
“Through COVID, with equipment shipping out of Wuhan and global disruption everywhere, we still delivered on schedule,” Gorman said. “That was only possible because there was alignment from the top. The executives on both sides made a commitment to collaboration, and that set the tone for everyone beneath them.”
For Gorman, the lesson is clear.
“Whilst the contract is important, you can’t contract your way into trust,” he said. “It has to be built, and it has to come from leadership.”
Building smarter, not just faster
Early collaboration also allows miners to make smarter design and investment decisions.
“We help clients translate their operational requirements into electrical reality, and what generation, storage and transmission assets they actually need to meet future loads,” Gorman said.
That foresight helps to avoid costly rework and prevent unnecessary risk.
“Sometimes bigger isn’t better,” Gorman said. “A larger turbine or higher tower might look efficient on paper, but it can drive exponential cost in logistics, cranes and access.
“Good advice early saves months later.”
Gorman believes the industry also needs to rethink what sustainability truly means.
“The most sustainable thing we can do is deliver projects efficiently,” he said. “Every month a diesel generator keeps running because a project is delayed adds to emissions. Delivery efficiency is a sustainability outcome in itself.”
Gorman urges decision-makers to factor time-to-delivery into ESG metrics.
“Getting it done right and getting it done once should be seen as a core sustainability measure,” he said.
As the first wave of major electrification projects is completed, the lessons will compound.
“Once these big builds are done, the experience will be in the market and delivery will accelerate,” Gorman said. “But to get there, miners need to close the trust gap as much as the knowledge gap.”
Those who start partnerships early, invest in alignment, and share accountability will be the ones who lead.
“These are not typical procurement exercises,” Gorman said. “They’re transformations that depend on collaboration across every level from boardroom to site.”
Electrification is mining’s next great challenge, and its greatest opportunity. While technology and policy play their part, execution will set the leaders apart.
The miners who move first to close the trust and knowledge gaps, build real partnerships, and act with urgency will be the ones that power the next chapter of Australia’s resource story.
This feature appeared in the December issue of Australian Mining magazine.