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would put a proposal. We wrote a Sandy Gray with
proposal in 18 hours. It is a staged the prototype
proposal; firstly, validating the pro- ventilator he has
totype and then secondly making designed along
sure we could build the prototype with the Gekko
and get it through the Therapeutic Systems team
Goods Administration [TGA] ap-
provals and then onto manufactur-
ing.
“Getting the TGA approval is the
most complicated and time con-
suming part of the process. We
are working all day and night to get
through it.”
Lewis-Gray said Gekko had been
inundated with offers of support and
assistance for the ventilator pro-
gramme.
“It’s absolutely extraordinary the
offers of support from within and
outside of the mining sector,” she “[These] can be used in Australia if
said. “A lot of people within the sec- needed or can be sent to support the
tor have been in touch asking can communities where Lycopodium oper-
they fund it or can we help deliver ates in Africa, including Ghana or Burki-
the product to remote places. You’d na Faso,” De Leo said.
be amazed how many people are A shift to producing medical supplies
supporting and engaging with us. may appear a large one for mining ser-
It’s inspirational.” vices companies but for Lewis-Gray it
Servicing remote locations is a was a natural pivot for Gekko. Peter De Leo
particular concern for miners con- “We’ve always prided ourselves on
scious of their potential impact on having cross-functional capability at pneumatics, hydraulics, control systems.
vulnerable host communities. Gekko,” she explained. “We are a one- So, when you look at who can design and
“They are wanting to get access stop shop for innovation. We can design, build these things a mining company has
for their local communities.” prototype and manufacture everything the skills. I think that’s what convinced the
Lycopodium also needs TGA on the one site so that makes us very Government. You’d think a medical sup-
approval for its ventilator. Once this is agile. There isn’t much focus on that in plies company would be more likely, but it
achieved the company intends to pro- Australia anymore. sits right in our skills set.
duce 100 units. “This product speaks a lot to what we do “We can get into manufacturing, we
think, pretty rapidly.”
Lewis-Gray was also the inaugural
chairperson of METS Ignited and is
adamant Australia’s mining industry
is best placed to provide similar solu-
tions to crises such as the coronavi-
rus pandemic.
“I absolutely believe that mining
is the lead industry when it comes
to bringing technology to Australia,
bringing innovation to Australia,” she
said. “It is probably the only indus-
try where we can say we truly are a
world leader. In METS we are defi-
nitely in the top 2-3 in terms of inno-
vation.
“It seems obvious to me that rapid
agile world-class innovation comes
from a sector we are world class in.
We are very fortunate in this country
to have a leading sector and related
supply sector that is able to respond.
It is no surprise that Nev Power is
leading the national corporate re-
sponse; we have skills in the min-
ing industry that other sectors don’t
have.”
- Dominic Piper

Lycopodium plans to build 100 of its own designed ventilators

aUSTRaLIa’S PaYDIRT MaY 2020 Page 45