Sustainable Minerals Institute Next Generation 2025 HDR Student Conference

Event Overview:

Registrations opening soon

• Who? The event will be open to SMI and EAIT students (both MPhil and PhD) and a wider range of industry partners and sponsors, ensuring strong attendance and broader industry involvement.

• When? Wed 16 July 2025–Thursday 17 July, 2025.
   
• Where? Abel Smith Lecture Theatre, St. Lucia campus
   
• What? The conference will feature a diverse range of presentation formats designed to cater to different aspects of student research:
  - Presentations: A combination of 10minute presentations with Q&A to allow for concise yet insightful sharing of research work.
  - Poster Presentations: A dedicated poster session will provide an opportunity for students to present research visually and engage with the audience – 5 min presentations.
  - Dedicated Industry Session: The conference will feature a dedicated session for industry representatives, focusing on company introductions and placement opportunities for HDR students. This will create opportunities for students to learn more about the mining industry and potential career paths
  - Panel discussions: Several industry partners will be invited to participate in panel discussions on the dedicated topic.
  - Keynote speakers: Several keynote speakers with extensive industrial experience will be invited to present in morning and Afternoon sessions. Keynote speakers should be chosen outside of UQ.

Conference Themes:

The conference themes encompass the entire mining project lifecycle—from planning to feasibility and production and closure—focusing on research challenges and innovative solutions within the following themes: 

• The Environmental Management and Rehabilitation session offers a platform for MPhil and PhD studentsto showcase their cutting-edge research on minimizing and mitigating the environmental impact of mining.Presentations will highlight advancements in areas such as innovative remediation technologies,sustainable mining practices, ecological rehabilitation and monitoring, and the application of digital toolsfor environmental management and decision-making.

• The Social Responsibility and Governance session provides students, particularly those engaged insocial sciences research, with opportunities to share their preliminary research findings with wideraudience in the mining sector. It aims to cover a variety of topics in social aspects of mining, including butnot limited to community engagement, displacement & resettlement, Indigenous rights, tailingsmanagement, and working conditions of miners.

• The Safe and Sustainable Mineral Exploration, Extraction and Processing session brings togetherstudents to share their research and insights on improving safety and sustainability across the mineralsvalue chain. It explores advancements in technologies and approaches that address the challenges ofcomplex operations, with a focus on reducing environmental impacts, enhancing resource efficiency,integrating safety practices, and applying innovative tools or strategies throughout the mineral lifecycle—from exploration and extraction to milling and tailings management and reprocessing.