Newcrest Mining Limited has joined the effort to boost Australian manufacturing and tackle COVID-19, by contributing A$200,000 to the production of a new low-cost Australian-made ventilator.
The OzVader ventilator prototype, which has been developed by Australian company Olitek, is in the final stages of performance and validation testing. Olitek is seeking Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration exemption to manufacture and supply the ventilator.
The Western Australian resources sector will provide half a million dollars to fund a COVID-19 population study which will undertake wide-scale asymptomatic testing of FIFO workers.
The Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia and its members have been working with the WA Government on the DETECT (Defining and Monitoring the Prevalence of SARS CoV2 (COVID-19) in the Community) program, which is focusing on testing targeted cohorts such as students, teachers, health care workers and police.