- Rising environmental consciousness prompts the mining sector to invest in condition monitoring devices

SYDNEY, April 30, 2013  /PRNewswire/ -- In the Australian mining sector, reduced demand for mining products from end users such as China has led to a reduction in profit margins. To cope with the economic downturn, mining companies are looking to do more with less. They are optimizing plant performance and enhancing productivity by minimizing downtime. Lowering downtime will also help cut down operational costs. This is expected to be the key driver for the growth of the Australian condition monitoring market for the mining sector.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.testandmeasurement.frost.com), Analysis of the Australian Condition Monitoring Market for the Mining Sector, estimates that the market revenues for 2012 were in the range of $40.0 to $60.0 million and expects this to reach $119.6 million in 2017.

As condition monitoring is a relatively new technology, mining companies are not fully aware of the benefits and consider it a capital-intensive product, rather than a tool that cuts operational expenditure. Market participants have to aggressively promote the advantages their product offers to make headway in the end-user sector.

"Mining companies need to be made aware that frequent machine failures and repairs can be avoided by performing predictive maintenance using condition monitoring," said Frost & Sullivan Measurement & Instrumentation Research Associate Vivek K Reghu. "The scaling up of automation in future mining operations is also likely to drive the demand for condition monitoring."

However, straitened circumstances and a shortfall in adequately skilled device operators may still hold back investment in the technology in the short term. Once the mining sector rebounds, end users will be more willing to adopt the system, especially cloud-based condition monitoring systems, which have a more attractive cost versus benefit than traditional technologies.

Meanwhile, reckless mining in the past has stoked concerns regarding the environment's deterioration. With the Australian government introducing the carbon tax, electricity prices are anticipated to increase by 10 to 20 percent, which will challenge the viability of mining operations. As a result, mining companies are now placing greater emphasis on addressing these issues during the project planning stage. This will lead to accelerated implementation of condition monitoring applications over the next three to five years."

Mining companies will be looking to employ best practices for environmental and energy management in the project planning stage," noted Reghu. "This translates to an opportunity for condition monitoring equipment suppliers to add energy management features to the existing product line and improve sales."

If you are interested in more information on this research, please send an email to Donna Jeremiah, Corporate Communications, at djeremiah@frost.com, with your full name, company name, job title, telephone number, company email address, company website, city, state and country.

Analysis of the Australian Condition Monitoring Market for the Mining Sector is part of the Test & Measurement Growth Partnership Service program. Frost & Sullivan's related research services include: Global Bit Error Rate Tester Market, Over-the-top Video Test and Monitoring Market, Nondestructive Test Equipment Market, and Customer Experience Monitoring Market. All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants.

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Analysis of the Australian Condition Monitoring Market for the Mining Sector
P6F0-30

Contact:
Donna Jeremiah
Corporate Communications – Asia Pacific
P: +61 (02) 8247 8927
F: +61 (02) 9252 8066
E: djeremiah@frost.com

Carrie Low
Corporate Communications – Asia Pacific
P: +603 6204 5910
F: +603 6201 7402
E: carrie.low@frost.com

Jessie Loh
Corporate Communications – Asia Pacific
P: +65 6890 0942
F: +65 6890 0988
E: jessie.loh@frost.com

http://www.frost.com

SOURCE Frost & Sullivan