Director's Welcome May 2022

I am frequently reminded of the breadth and depth of expertise within SMI, and this edition of the e-newsletter really highlights the diverse range of projects where we are having an impact.

As you may have seen in recent media reports, The University of Queensland is one of three university partners to receive the first tranche of funding from the Australian Federal Government’s Trailblazer program. The bid to secure a reliable supply of critical minerals for Australia, was led by Curtin University and supported by UQ and James Cook University.

In addition to $50 million of government funding, the project has attracted 33 industry partners committing a further $90 million. This is a game changer for research into the critical minerals supply chain and will support transition to net zero emissions. I would like to congratulate everyone involved in the bid and look forward to seeing the innovative outcomes  when industry and academia work together.

From the national to the international, the United Nations recently passed a new resolution on the environmental aspects of minerals and metals management to build on work recently undertaken by SMI and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The team from SMI’s Development Minerals Program held consultations with stakeholders and governments of UN Member States to explore issues and challenges related to minerals resource governance. The outcomes were presented in the resulting report Mineral Resource Governance and the Global Goals: An agenda for international collaboration, which was referenced in the resolution and agreed to by the world’s ministers for environment.

SMI recently launched the Governance for Mining and Resources Leaders professional development course which aims to build the capability of leaders in the sector to meet environmental, health, safety and social performance obligations and expectations in an increasingly complex world. The course is led by Susan Johnston and has been developed with significant input from industry – the first course kicks off on 20 June.

SMI now offers professional development courses across all aspects of the resources sector aimed at increasing specialist knowledge and skill – you can see our full list of upcoming courses on the website.

Finally, I’d like to mention the establishment of the Flotation Chemistry Research Group in SMI. Led by Associate Professor Liza Forbes, the Group specialises in base metal sulphide flotation systems, focusing on reagent chemistry (both novel and traditional), water properties, mineral surface chemistry and electrochemistry as well as advanced surface analysis. This expertise is complemented by ongoing work within SMI on flotation hydrodynamics, processing modelling and circuit design. SMI is now strongly positioned to use the latest advancements in technology to provide whole-circuit diagnostic of flotation performance and solutions for improving process efficiency, safety and environmental sustainability.

I hope you enjoy the May e-newsletter and remember you can stay up to date with all our activities via the website, LinkedIn and Twitter.