Events

The Complex Orebodies Program is now into its third year of operation. This presentation will cover progress to date on the program, showcasing a range of the exciting projects, outputs, impacts and collaborations which have resulted so far.

In March 2020 the Federal Government announced a new $130 million Cooperative Research Centre on Transformations in Mining Economies (CRC TiME). The University of Queensland, through the Sustainable Minerals Institute, led the development of this cooperative research centre in partnership with The University of Western Australia.
This presentation will outline: the basic components of CRC TiME; the game changing value proposition which positions the mining industry as an agent of regional development; and the unique partnership that has drawn in mining companies, technology and service suppliers, state and local governments and groups representative of regional and community interests.

Real time measurement is essential for improved plant control. Bulk ore sorting is automated grade control between the mine and mill and sensing data can be used concurrently for multiple purposes (ore blending, diversion, reconciliation, metal accounting, feed forward control, etc).

The Australian Acid and Metalliferous Drainage (AMD) workshop is presented by the Sustainable Minerals Institute at The University of Queensland. The workshop, associated short courses, and site visit will provide excellent opportunities to network with speakers and delegates on the causes, management and amelioration of the impacts of AMD and Acid Sulfate Soils.

Climate change accountability plays a critical role in ensuring the security of the future of minerals supply. Mining has an important position in enabling our modern lifestyle and the development of infrastructure for green technologies; and, therefore, it is important to acknowledge and point out the risk of climate change on mining infrastructure. A comprehensive carbon accounting framework, that takes into consideration all mitigation opportunities, is required to implement climate change mitigation strategies within mining supply chain.

There are a host of non-technical issues that need to be addressed in order to successfully commercialise technology in the resources industry. Today we will talk about a range of actions which can greatly assist your technology to be implemented in industry.

Panel discussion and morning tea to celebrate International Women's Day 2020
#EachforEqual

Process water can potentially be reused in flotation, particularly in the reverse cationic flotation of magnetite concentrates – the Kryvyi Rih (Ukraine) case study concludes that unwanted silica content reporting to the magnetite concentrate during reverse flotation can significantly be restricted following the proposed methodology for reusing process water.

Tailings dam failures are unfortunately common, with recent failures having catastrophic consequences in terms of loss of life and environmental damage. David will present an overview of recent dam failures, technical causes and new methods of monitoring, failure prediction and closure practices that will reduce the frequency of tailings dams failures in the future.

Join us to acknowledge the research achievements and celebrate the success of our colleagues with the annual SMI Excellence Awards and End of Year Celebration. Please note: Just adding to your calendar does not register your attendance. Please use registration link.

In a first for UQ, this panel discussion is produced in partnership with ABC News 24 and will be recorded at UQ’s St Lucia campus for subsequent broadcast.
Chaired by UQ’s UNESCO Chair of Journalism and Communication, Professor Peter Greste, the program will unpack the sustainability challenges posed by mining.

Some production blast-hole drilling rigs are capable of measuring and storing various operational parameters while operating (Measuring While Drilling data-MWD). There are a number of examples from the literature where MWD data is used to predict rock properties such as lithology, strength and fractures. This study investigates the links between the MWD data acquired in laboratory and ore breakage parameters.

International Night is a longstanding tradition and way for SMI staff, students, and their families to celebrate and share their heritage with food.
Come along, enjoy the food your friends and co-workers have made, and have fun! Costumes are encouraged, and entertainment is provided for children.

Gravity processing is the oldest large-scale mineral concentrating technology. It has been mainly superseded in the past century by technology such as magnetic separation and flotation, but remains a very important process for base metal oxides (such as tin and tantalum) and precious metals recovery.

The Complex Orebodies Program is reaching the end of its second year of operation. This Presentation Day aims to provide researchers and other interested parties with an overview of the research programs underway, along with their outcomes and forward plans.

Over the last decade there has been a strong move toward implementing Artificial Intelligence (AI) and in particular Machine Learning (ML) to improve the productivity of mining operations, enhance environmental and social performance and increase the health and safety of personnel. The mining industry is at the technological stage that we can develop a fully autonomous underground mine, integrate operational data for near-real-time decision making, promote the safety of people and control energy and water utilisation.

One simple gesture can make a world of change for the next generation. Join us for our first ever UQ Giving Day on Wednesday 23 October 2019.

Every year, we extract 9 billion tonnes of metal ores and in the process, we create a 350billion tonne waste problem, destroy tropical habitats and carbon sinks, releasing toxic substances into the environment and emissions into the atmosphere. While metals do not have renewable substitutes, they can be recovered and recycled – that’s the good news. The bad news is, we currently do not have enough metal in the system to close the loop and we will need to inject a lot of virgin metal to provide for an additional 3 billion people this century.

The Sustainable Minerals Institute’s Production Centres, the W.H. Bryan Mining & Geology Research Centre (BRC) and Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre (JKMRC), have exciting PhD opportunities for engineering, science and geology students.

Process mineralogy is typically related to detailed examinations of metallic ores and the relationship between mineralogical properties and mineral processing. However, process mineralogical techniques are widely used within other mineral sectors as well, such as on industrial minerals, although the main objectives of such investigations can be different.

Trying to improve energy efficiency and modelling the energy of size reduction is one of the most important problems we face in comminution research. But regrettably, even the very definition of “energy efficiency” is elusive. The development of better grinding devices and circuits that use less of the world’s limited energy resources requires a clearer understanding of the relationship between energy and particle size.

The Global Mineral Sands industry is predominantly focused on the production of titanium and zirconium bearing minerals such as ilmenite, rutile and zircon. However, in recent years there has been a shift in the attention of both explorers and producers to consider the minor rare earth bearing minerals of monazite and xenotime.