More than a dozen researchers from across The University of Queensland’s Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI) have provided unique insights into the future of mining at the 23rd World Mining Congress and Expo (WMC).
The 2013 theme, Mapping the Future: Advances in Mining Engineering, enabled SMI researchers to share their knowledge with more than 1,500 delegates from the mining industry, as well as suppliers and service providers.
SMI researchers were recognised for authoring the best papers in two of the conference streams:
- Assoc. Professor Philipp Kirsch and colleagues from SMI’s Minerals Industry Safety and Health Centre (MISHC) won best paper in the Underground Mining stream for Industry Scale Knowledge Management – Introducing the RISKGATE Underground Strata and Explosions Body of Knowledge
- Julia Keenan, Dr Deanna Kemp and Rebekah Ramsay from SMI’s Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining (CSRM) won best paper in the Mining Ethics and Sustainability stream for Company-Community Agreements, Gender and Development.
Further, CSRM Director Professor Saleem Ali presented the keynote address in the Mining Ethics and Sustainability session.
“My presentation, The Ethics of Space and Time in Mining Projects: Matching Technical Tools with Social Performance, aimed to explore new approaches to using discount rates and GIS technologies in improving social performance of mining companies,” Professor Ali said.
In conjunction with the Global Mining and Standards Group, MISHC Deputy Director Professor Robin Burgess-Limerick held a post-congress workshop focused on the Earth Moving Equipment Safety Round Table’s (EMERST) recent activities. The workshop had a particular focus on the EMERST Design Evaluation for Equipment Procurement process (EDEEP).
“We brought together representatives from mining companies and equipment manufacturers to discuss experiences with the EDEEP process since its launch the 2012 MinExpo in Las Vegas.
“The process is being adopted by equipment manufacturers to document the safe design features of mining equipment for communication to prospective purchasers, as well as identifying opportunities for improving safety by design,” Professor Burgess-Limerick said.
The next World Mining Congress is scheduled for Brazil in 2016.
Further information can be found on the WMC website.
