The global interest in mine waste reuse has increased significantly over the past 5 years as the industry seeks to reduce environmental footprints and legacies, and satisfy the growing demand for critical (or technology) metals with mine waste as a potential supplementary secondary resource.
The Mine Waste Transformation through Characterisation (MIWATCH) research group is applying geometallurgical tools to enable the geoenvironmental characterisation of mine waste across the life-of-mine.
The group works across the life-of-mine and uses chemical, mineralogical, mineral chemistry, physical, and metallurgical testing tools to determine the properties of mine waste and assess how it should be best managed to reduce environmental risks. They have developed a set of integrated geometallurgical toolkits to assess mine waste for use at the start of a mining project and also where mine waste already exists. The group are also working with their partners to improve data visualisation and interrogation.
Highlights
- Established in 2021 – now a team of 14 researchers.
- Delivered >50 ‘Stream 1’ site investigations across Australia.
- Collaborations with Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, Northern Territory and Western Australia state governments and Geoscience Australia.
- Identified potential resources of cobalt (Co), indium (In), antimony (Sb) and rare earth elements in Australia’s mine waste.
- Collaborative research projects with other universities including The University of Adelaide, The University of Western Australia and The Australian National University through the Australian Research Council Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Critical Resources for the Future.
- Works closely with METS companies and other partners to transform mine waste into future resources.
Background
The complexity of mine waste management continues to be one of the greatest challenges the mining industry faces, with ‘decarbonisation’ and ‘environment and social’ ranked in the top business risks 2024. Increasing global awareness of the negative impacts that incomplete, or inadequate, mine closure can have on the environment has increased demand on the industry to improve environment management standards during and beyond the life-of-mine. However, successful mine closure is a challenge for a number of reasons, the most important of which is the poor understanding of the mine waste’s (e.g. waste rock, tailings) chemical and physical properties. If these are not known, then the engineering design to contain the waste will ultimately fail. When considering improved management practices, which meet societal expectations, a new approach is required.
Improving methodologies for predicting the behaviour of future mine wastes, in order to protect communities, reduce liabilities and realise potential economic benefits.
Working with government and industry partners, the MIWATCH team use geometallurgical principles to characterise future mine waste whereby the bulk mineralogical and chemical properties, insitu mineralogy and texture, mineral chemistry and acid-base accounting properties of waste are assessed.
By doing this at the early life of mine stages, the mining industry can more effectively de-risk mine waste and reduce its footprint by either identifying secondary deposits and reuse opportunities for gangue, or developing more effective rehabilitation strategies by gaining a detailed understanding of waste properties.
The MIWATCH group operates across 3 research themes.
1. Mineralogical and chemical data analysis to predict AMD Characteristics
Investigating how to optimize a range of datasets, including hyperspectral data, for early life-of-mine characterisation.
2. Evaluating the geochemical and geotechnical properties of mine waste
Using established and emerging tools for investigating the geochemical and geotechnical properties of mine waste.
3. Characterisation of existing mine wastes to find future critical metal resources
Breathing new life into old mines to identify resources for the low carbon future.
Learn more about MIWATCH's research themes
Research projects
The MIWATCH team's research projects are conducted under the group's research themes:
1. Mineralogical and chemical data analysis to predict AMD Characteristics
Forecasting geoenvironmental properties of non-ore material in northern Chile
2. Evaluating the geochemical and geotechnical properties of mine waste
Environmental geophysics characterisation toolkit for Queensland's mine waste
3: Characterisation of existing mine wastes to find future critical metal resources
Exploration of new economy metals in Queensland's mine waste
Understanding cycling of indium in Queensland's mine waste
Mine waste sampling and analysis nodule exploring for the future program
MIWATCH group members come from a range of mining-related disciplines, including exploration geology, geochemistry, mineral processing and hydrogeology.
Research lead
Associate Professor Anita Parbhakar-Fox
View Anita Parbhakar-Fox's profile
Research Team
Dr Rosie Blannin
View Rosie Blannin's profile
Dr Steve Jason Chingwaru
View Steve Chingwaru's profile
Dr Francesco Colombi
View Francesco Colombi’s profile
Dr Allan Silva Gomes
View Allan Gomes' research profile
Dr Laura Jackson
View Laura Jackson's research profile
Lexi K'ng
View Lexi K'ng's profile
Tomás León Cortes
View Tomás León Cortes profile
Dr Eric O Ansah
View Eric O Ansah's profile
Rose Ridgeway
View Rose Ridgeway’s profile
Sijia Wang
View Sijia Wang's profile
Ali Yadollahi
View Ali Yadollahi's profile
Research students
Olivia Mejías González
View Olivia Mejías González's profile
Loren Nicholls
View Loren Nicholls' profile
Enrique Sáez Salgado
View Enrique Sáez Salgado's profile
Lina Toben
(University of Adelaide student)
See publications | Technical reports | Journal papers | Conference publications
Technical report papers
Gomes, Allan S., Bhowany, K., Jackson, Laura., Han, Z., Parbhakar-Fox, A., (2023). Assessment of mine waste secondary prospectivity: Iron Blow and Mount Bonnie, Northern Territory. Geoscience Exploration and Mining Information System – Report. Northern Territory Geological Survey. NTGS Record 2023-015.
Gomes, Allan S., Bhowany, K., Jackson, Laura., Han, Z., Nascimento, S., Parbhakar-Fox, A., Assessment of mine waste secondary prospectivity: Brocks Creek, Northern Territory. Geoscience Exploration and Mining Information System – Report. Northern Territory Geological Survey. NTGS Record 2023-014
Jackson, Laura, Corrick, Alex, Han, Zhengdong, Moyo, Annah, and Parbhakar-Fox, Anita (2023). Secondary prospectivity of South Australia’s mine waste: review. Sustainable Minerals Institute, The University of Queensland.
Bhowany, Kamini and Parbhakar-Fox, Anita (2022). Exploring for the future – mine waste sampling and analysis: Cannington Mine tailings, Queensland. Sustainable Minerals Institute.
Fox, Nathan and Parbhakar-Fox, Anita (2022). Assessing Recommercialisation Potential at the Mary Kathleen mine, Queensland. Brisbane, Australia: University of Queensland.
e Abreu, Susana Brito, Southam, Gordon, Villa Gomez, Denys, Ma, Xiaodong, Vaughan, James, Micklethwaite, Steven, Forbes, Liza and Parbhakar-Fox, Anita (2022). Review of mineral processing technologies suitable for arsenic recovery from sulphidic ores and wastes. Brisbane, QLD Australia: The University of Queensland.
Parbhakar-Fox, Anita and Fox, Nathan (2020). Geometallurgical characterisation of future mine tailings, Alpala porphyry Cu-Au Project: Final Report. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: UQ.
Parbhakar-Fox, Anita (2020). Cobalt and other critical metals in tailings of major mineral deposits in north Queensland: Baal Gammon mine. St Lucia, QLD Australia: University of Queensland.
Journal papers
Parbhakar-Fox, Anita and Baumgartner, Regina (2023). Action versus reaction: how geometallurgy can improve mine waste management across the life-of-mine. Elements, 19 (6), 371-376. doi: 10.2138/gselements.19.6.371
Mejías, Olivia, Parbhakar-Fox, Anita, Jackson, Laura, Valenta, Rick and Townley, Brian (2023). Indium in ore deposits and mine waste environments: Geochemistry, mineralogy, and opportunities for recovery. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 255 107312, 1-26. doi: 10.1016/j.gexplo.2023.107312
Mishra, Partha Narayan, Parbhakar-Fox, Anita, Olaya, Sebastian Quintero, Scheuermann, Alexander and Bore, Thierry (2024). Electromagnetic methods for assessing moisture content and density of an iron oxide copper gold deposits (IOCG) tailings sample. Acta Geotechnica. doi: 10.1007/s11440-023-02120-y
Nascimento, Sibele C., Parbhakar-Fox, Anita, Cracknell, Matthew J., Cooke, David R., Miller, Clare B. and Heng, Wei Xuen (2023). Geochemical, mineralogical, and geophysical methods to establish the geoenvironmental characteristics of the King River delta, Queenstown, Western Tasmania. Applied Geochemistry, 159 105820, 105820. doi: 10.1016/j.apgeochem.2023.105820
Moyo, Annah, Parbhakar-Fox, Anita, Meffre, Sebastien and Cooke, David R. (2023). Geoenvironmental characterisation of legacy mine wastes from Tasmania – Environmental risks and opportunities for remediation and value recovery. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 454 131521, 131521. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131521
Fitch, Verity, Parbhakar‐fox, Anita, Crane, Richard and Newsome, Laura (2022). Evolution of sulfidic legacy mine tailings: a review of the Wheal Maid site, UK. Minerals, 12 (7) 848, 1-19. doi: 10.3390/min12070848
Whitworth, Anne J., Forbes, Elizaveta, Verster, Isabella, Jokovic, Vladimir, Awatey, Bellson, and Parbhakar-Fox, Anita (2022). Review on advances in mineral processing technologies suitable for critical metal recovery from mining and processing wastes. Cleaner Engineering and Technology, 7 100451 100451. doi.org/10.1016/j.clet.2022.100451
Conference publications
Blannin, Rosie, Jackson, Laura and Parbhakar-Fox, Anita (2023). Geostatistical and geometallurgical investigation of Co in the Rocklands tailings deposit, Queensland, Australia. 17th SGA Biennial Meeting 2022 "Mineral Resources in a Changing World", Zurich, Switzerland, 28 August - 1 September 2023.
Bhowany, Kamini, Han, Zhengdong, Parbhakar-Fox, Anita, Jones, Thomas R., Farias, Pablo G., Whelan, Jo A., Close, Dorothy, Thorne, Jane P. and Fraser, Geoff (2023). Secondary prospectivity of mine waste in the Pine Creek region: The search for critical metals. AGES 2023, Alice Springs, NT Australia, 17-19th April 2023. Alice Springs, NT Australia: Resourcing the Territory.
Parbhakar-Fox, Anita, Jackson, Laura, Bhowany, Kamini, Guerin, Kristy, Han, Zhengdong, Blannin, Rosie, Moyo, Annah, Nicholls, Loren and Mejias, Olivia (2023). Exploration for critical metals in Australia’s mine waste to support the energy transition. France: European Association of Geochemistry. doi: 10.7185/gold2023.18999
Saez Salgado, Enrique , Parbhakar-Fox, Anita , Fox, Nathan , Baumgartner, Regina and Valenta, Rick (2022). Determining the geoenvironmental properties of non-ore material at the Quebrada Blanca porphyry Cu-Mo deposit using hyperspectral mineralogy. SEG 2022 Minerals For Our Future, Denver, CO, United States, 27-30 August 2022. Littleton, CO, United States: Society of Economic Geologists.
Jackson, Laura, Parbhakar-Fox, Anita and Degeling, Helen (2022). Determination of rare earth element content in mine waste, Phosphate Hill Mine, NW Queensland. SGA 2022, Online, 28 -31 March 2022.
Nicholls, Loren, Parbhakar-Fox, Anita, Valenta, Rick, Gow, Paul, Degeling, Helen, Lisitsin, Vladimir and Gray, Rosemary (2022). Exploring the potential for critical metal resources in mine waste: Geometallurgical characterisation of cobalt-bearing minerals in tailings at the Capricorn Copper Mine, Northwest Queensland. 16th SGA Biennial Meeting 2022, Rotorua, New Zealand, 28-31 March 2022. SGA.
Mejías, Olivia, Valenzuela, Martín, Townley, Brian, Fox, Nathan, Jackson, Laura and Parbhakar-Fox, Anita (2022). Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) analysis applied to indium-bearing minerals and textures at the Baal Gammon polymetallic deposit, Australia. 16th SGA Biennial Meeting 2022 , Virtual, 28-31 March 2022. Rotorua, New Zealand: Society for Geology Applied to Mineral Deposits.
Nascimento, Sibele, Parbhakar-Fox, Anita and Cracknell, Matthew (2022). Geoenvironmental characterisation of the King River Delta: A combined geophysical, geochemical and mineralogical approach. France: European Association of Geochemistry. doi: 10.46427/gold2022.12134
Contact us
Associate Professor Anita Parbhakar-Fox
Group Lead, Mine Waste Transformation through Characterisation
Mobile: +61 4 0085 0831Phone: +61 7 3365 5977 a.parbhakarfox@uq.edu.au
Mine Waste Transformation through Characterisation is a research group within the WH Bryan Mining Geology Research Centre (BRC).
MIWATCH updates
See the latest from the MIWATCH research group on their blog