Director's Welcome - May 2023

Welcome to the second e-newsletter of 2023.

Face-to-face conferences are well and truly back on the calendar, and I was fortunate to be in Chile recently for the World Copper Conference where I moderated a panel on the role of technology and innovation in improved sustainability and future copper supply. It was great to see many familiar faces and have an opportunity to discuss the exciting work underway at SMI and across the sector.

During the trip, SMI’s International Centre of Excellence in Chile (SMI-ICE-Chile) hosted a meeting with the Australian Ambassador, Todd Mercer, to discuss the Centre’s growth and future plans. It’s fair to say the ICE-Chile team have done a fantastic job building a strong pipeline of projects aimed at maximising the country's role in contributing resources to future sustainability.

The trip was also an opportunity to officially announce that the Centre’s General Manager, Doug Aitken, has been appointed to the role of SMI-ICE-Chile Executive Director and the former Deputy General Manager, Francisca Rivero, has taken over Doug’s vacated position – both very well-deserved appointments and I extend my congratulations to both Doug and Francisca.

Last month, researchers from SMI’s Development Minerals program were in Paris to attend the OECD Forum on Responsible Mineral Supply Chains. They held a roundtable session to explore responsible sourcing of sand and silicates – building on work they began in 2022 with Inter-IKEA as the primary corporate partner. The roundtable was an opportunity to share findings from a scoping study on social, environmental and human rights risks potentially associated with sand and silicate extraction, and explore the role of sand and silicates in underpinning modern society and global development. The relevance of sand and silicates to Inter-IKEA’s (and other companies') operations and products was also discussed as part of an open exchange on possibilities for a coherent framework for responsible sourcing.

Back in Brisbane and final preparations are underway for the World Mining Congress which is being held in the city for the first time at the end of June. There is a great line up of keynote speakers and I’m very pleased to see a number of SMI researchers selected for oral and poster presentations. It promises to be a great conference and you can find details of SMI’s involvement in this newsletter.

Institute staff are also involved with the 2023 Life of Mine Conference which is being co-hosted by SMI’s Centre for Water in the Minerals Industry (CWiMI). The conference will address current and future challenges impacting the mining value chain and present leading examples of sustainability in mining.

Recently CWiMI and the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining (CSRM) hosted representatives from the Ngadju Conservation Aboriginal Corporation (NCAC) at SMI recently to discuss their work and the increasing development pressure on Ngadju country in Western Australia.

The NCAC’s relationship with SMI began in 2022 when they contacted CWiMI as they sought partners to investigate the water, soil, sediment and landforms of the Ngadju salt-lake systems and develop scientific knowledge of the biophysical processes.

CSRM and CWiMI have received a UQ grant to build and strengthen this relationship and the visit was the first of three face-to-face meetings planned for 2023. The delegation kindly took time during their visit to present a seminar to staff and students outlining their work and the challenges facing the Ngadju land and culture.

And finally, SMI's International Night is at the Indooroopilly Mine Site on Friday 19 May, 6–10pm. This longstanding event is our unique way to celebrate the cultural diversity of SMI and it is open to current and former staff, students, industry partners and their families. If you are in Brisbane and able to attend please visit the event webpage for more information and to purchase tickets.

I hope you enjoy this newsletter, and if you have any comments or would like to find out more about work underway at SMI, please let me know.