Bridging Mining and Space: How Michelle Keegan is Driving Innovation and Collaboration
Bridging Mining and Space: How Michelle Keegan is Driving Innovation and Collaboration
In an industry that has transformed dramatically over the past few decades, few careers illustrate the power of curiosity, resilience, and vision quite like Michelle Keegan’s journey in mining and technology.
Starting out when the mining sector didn’t even have internet or email, APCOM Keynote speaker Michelle Keegan studied mining engineering with an unwavering goal: to carve out a career on her own terms in an industry she loved. Over time, her interests evolved beyond the mine site, driven by a fascination with how digital tools could reshape the way we discover, extract, and manage the Earth’s resources.
“For the last six years, I focused heavily on the digital side,” she explains. “It’s always been about finding where technology can solve real challenges and creating the space for people to share knowledge, learn, and push the industry forward.”
One of the most exciting parts of her journey was the unexpected but natural connection between mining and space. “I love being able to connect these worlds,” she says. “The investment flowing into the space sector has driven remarkable advances in precision, automation, and remote operations, and all of this has huge implications for mining.”
Looking ahead, Michelle expects the next decade to bring even tighter links between mining and space technology.
“Costs in the space sector are coming down, while precision and scale are increasing. Automation, robotics, and AI are accelerating not just in space but right across the mining value chain,” she says. “Over the next ten years, I hope we’ll see that investment and innovation translate directly into mining helping us discover more, mine deeper, and do it all more safely and sustainably.”
She believes the industry’s willingness to think bigger will be vital. “Mining technology won’t stand alone. It’s going to be part of something larger, more interconnected with other industries, created together, operated at scale.”
For Michelle, events like APCOM are critical to that vision.
“AusIMM is such an important professional body for our industry. It brings together experts, fosters knowledge-sharing and training, and drives the conversations that matter right now,” she says. “We can’t adopt new technology in silos. Conferences like APCOM break those walls down by bringing together multiple disciplines, including geology, mine planning, digital specialists, and more, all in one place.”
Without revealing too much, Michelle says her keynote at APCOM 2025 will focus on the incredible opportunities that lie at the intersection of mining and space.
“Space is the ultimate remote operation, remote imagery, real-time data, and rapid decision-making. None of it is ‘nice to have’ in space, it’s essential. Mining can learn a lot from that,” she says.
“I’m excited to share how these themes are evolving, and what new frontiers might open up when we think bigger.”
“It’s about staying connected across professional circles, the whole value chain. Coming together regularly to share what we’re learning and where we’re going next. That’s how we make real progress,” she says.
With the industry facing big questions about what’s next, that spirit of collaboration is more important than ever.
APCOM 2025 promises to be a place where disciplines converge, ideas spark, and the mining sector looks firmly to the future and, increasingly, to the stars.