Events

When CWiMI was created in 2005, companies were under increasing pressure to disclose their environmental, economic and social impacts in corporate reports. CWiMI was asked to assist with achieving consistency in water reporting and in collaboration with the Minerals Council of Australia, developed the mining industry's Water Accounting Framework, which has now been adopted as international guideline. In this webinar, Asso Prof Claire Côte reflects on its benefits.

The presentation deals with the question from which condition onwards soil starts to show soil-like properties and how they relate to potential failure mechanisms for Tailings Storage Facilities. Special attention will be given to an emerging monitoring technology based on the electromagnetic measurement method dielectric spectroscopy.

Sarah Mackenzie presents results from a research project entitled Participatory processes, mine closure and social transitions carried out under the Social Aspects of Mine Closure Research Consortium at UQ. The objective was to understand the potential participatory mechanisms to achieve a socially just transition and a positive social legacy.

The current global tensions between China and the West have the potential for leading to major disruptions in metal supply. This presentation will consider the latest data on supply security based on recent research conducted on resource efficiency, recycling, remanufacturing and frontier sources of metals. The presentation will also explore what role technical mineral processing research can play in relieving some of the stresses created by such geopolitics.

This year celebrates the 13th year of the Three Minute Thesis Competition (3MT®) at The University of Queensland (UQ). Due to the worldwide coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, increasing social distancing measures and public gathering restrictions being implemented, the decision has been made to move the 2020 UQ 3MT Competition to a virtual format (video submission).

Dr Antony van der Ent discusses his research into Hyperaccumulators - these are plants that have the ability to accumulate extremely high concentrations of metals in their shoots. Hyperaccumulator plants are known for elements such as cobalt, copper, manganese, nickel, selenium, thallium and zinc.

Dr Francisco Reyes outlines work underway at JKMRC on developing a soft sensor to overcome performance challenges facing Semi-Autogenous Grinding (SAG) mills.

Dr Ben Seligmann outlines how to generate more useful lessons from accident investigations.

Professor Rick Valenta presents the results of an analysis of the R&D priorities for minerals (excluding coal) in Queensland - a collaboration between SMI, DNRME, QRC and QEC

This seminar will highlight awareness of environmental commitments in all mining-related work or projects.

Associate Professor Mansour Edraki will use examples of SMI projects to discuss basic geochemical processes that we need to understand in order to predict and reduce residual risk at mine closure, with a focus on acid and metalliferous drainage, including neutral and saline drainage.

‘New economy minerals’ is an umbrella term for a range of metals and mineral elements used in many emerging technologies including electric vehicles, renewable energy products, low-emission power sources, consumer devices, and products for the medical, defence and scientific research sectors. As Queensland is potentially rich in these minerals, it is well-placed to meet rapidly expanding domestic and international demand. This presentation will introduce the importance of New Economy minerals to Queensland, and the steps being taken by Government to support and boost exploration for these commodities in the state.

Dr Sarah Holcombe will discuss what cultural heritage is, and the ways in which methods for defining a cultural ‘site’ often determine the types of protections that are afforded.What constitutes a good practice cultural heritage management plan (CHMP), and CHM system, will also be outlined.

Mineral extraction is increasingly moving towards low grade ore bodies with increased comminution energy requirements. Previous work at the JKMRC has established the potential of pre-concentration with HVP technology as a solution to these increased energy demands, however, a detailed understanding of the factors that affect pre-concentration performance does not currently exist. This study examines machine-related factors and their impact on rock breakage and pre-concentration performance.

Associate Professor Mohsen Yahyaei discusses opportunities for enhancing the performance of process control from 5 to 10% by actively involving plant metallurgists and plant managers in designing and evaluating different levels of process control systems.

A successful geomet project requires planning and experimental design. Consistent and methodical test work allows for amazing data analysis. The magic is in the data relationship between the various technical areas. This seminar will discuss the design and implementation of a geometallurgical program.

Subtitle: How do we rehabilitate colossal volumes of mine wastes more cheaply and with long-lasting outcomes?
Mining sectors and communities face ever-increasing environmental and health risks from mine wastes as a result of mining and processing precious and base metal ores. But ecological engineering of mine wastes aims to harness bio-chemical weathering and transformation of tailings minerals to alter tailings in situ, for cost-effective and sustainable outcomes.

There is always potential to innovate and improve a gadget or process, no matter how mature the technology may seem to be.

CEO of CRC TiME, Dr Guy Boggs (The University of Western Australia), and CRC TiME Research Director Professor Anna Littleboy (SMI) walk us through the fundamental aspects of this new 10 year project.

Improvements in productivity, efficiency and safety always rate in the top 10 trends, risk or opportunities from mining industry surveys. One area of focus to achieve productivity improvements over the past few years has been through the application of technology, automation and data analytics primarily focussed on existing mining equipment. This presentation will look at the current development of an automated system to enable precision mining by providing spatially dense knowledge of the rock, beyond grade, for short interval control – improving blast outcomes, material control and downstream processes.

Dr Liza Forbes from JKMRC presents on flotation chemistry - one of the least well understood mineral processing disciplines.