Sanjeev Gandhi, CEO of chemicals and explosives giant Orica, says artificial intelligence (AI) may be new but the chemicals industry is far advanced.
"They got pressure first because they were known as big pollutants, bad actors," he said.
"Big accidents, people dying and the regulators came down hard."
He said innovation in chemistry and automation helped rebuild the reputation of his industry.
"The discussions we have today on ESG (environmental, social and governance issues) and AI, in the chemicals industry we had that 20 years back," he said.
The chemical engineer took to the main stage at the recent World Mining Congress, held in Australia for the first time, as countries grapple with the need to mine more but leave a smaller footprint.
The impact on the environment, water quality and the health of local communities and mine employees are the main perceived negatives of mining, opinion polls show.
Asked about negativity towards mining, Mr Gandhi said Rio Tinto chair Dominic Barton, BHP chair Ken MacKenzie and Newcrest CEO Sherry Duhe give him hope.
"Because these are not miners, they're international executives," he said.
"I have nothing against miners but they bring this global perspective to Australian-based companies and we need more of these," he said.
"You need that outside perspective, you need people to come in and say 'that way doesn't seem quite correct'. That's what you've been seeing."
But just because Australia has the ore, it does not mean the country can be a manufacturer - it's a totally different skill set, he warns.
The value-added step for the country should be into processing and refining, not battery manufacturing, because there is know-how, he said as an experienced executive and chemical engineer.
"How do you get from ore to stable lithium at high quality - that's chemistry," he said.
"And don't forget, from lithium hydroxide to a battery pack is another $10 billion to get it into a car."
Presently, the biggest commodity exposure Orica has in its portfolio is to copper.
"It's not classified as a critical mineral but it is critical," he said.
"Without copper you can't transmit anything - whether you need solar or wind or batteries - you need copper."
Nickel, cobalt and lithium are also rising up the ranks, particularly West Australian hard rock lithium because mines need to blast, he said.
Mining companies will also need to go deeper underground in more difficult areas to find new sources of in-demand critical minerals, sparking demand for Orica's digital tools.
New geotechnical tools and cloud computing mean a new resource can be found and its quality identified - without drilling or having to send samples to a laboratory, he said.
BHP has warned governments not to get too possessive of the resources their countries own in the race for clean energy minerals.
Excluding competition is a dangerous game to play, Mr Gandhi said.
He said emerging producers should be supported with subsidies.
"Australia needs to find the next driver of our prosperity and growth, and that is going to be critical minerals."
