Research

Advancing cave mining to meet future needs

Published on: 8 March 2019

The University of Queensland’s Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI) and Mining3 have joined forces with Newcrest Mining, Vale, OZ Minerals, BHP Billiton and PT Merdeka Copper Gold to develop Cave Mining 2040.
The international consortium will collaborate on projects aimed at developing new and improved cave mining methods that could help meet future demand for minerals.

Mining and regional water security: Linking site operations to regional water problems and solutions

8 March 2019 9:00am–10:00am

in JKMRC Friday Seminars 2019

Parts of the mining sector are quickly recognising the risks and opportunities associated with their role in regional water systems, and are endeavouring to be better “water stewards”. Advances in unit process technology and efficient on-site operations underpin this effort, but increasing attention is being directed at the wider outside-the-fence and beyond-closure challenges. This seminar presents three diverse examples of research supporting the sector’s endeavours.

Comminution Energy Efficiency – Three horizons of technological innovation

1 March 2019 9:00am–10:00am

in JKMRC Friday Seminars 2019

On his final day before transition to the world of engineering consultants, Grant will present a keynote he recently gave in Brazil. This presentation represents the culmination of his research over the years at the JKMRC from the Comminution Energy Curves, through various case studies and the integration of comminution, classification and flotation.

Artisanal small scale mining - person hammering rocks

Relationships between Large Scale Mining and Artisanal Scale Mining

Examining the relationship between large scale mining (LSM) and artisanal small scale mining (ASM) by drawing on research from the fields of human geography, sociology, economics and/or geology.

Industrial Ecology & Circular Economy

Environmental Geochemistry

This group develops innovative tools for understanding and predicting geochemical processes, which underpin sustainable management of waste rock dumps, mineral processing tailings and final voids.

Total Deposit Knowledge

The aim of the Total Deposit Knowledge program is to maximise the impact of geological information and understanding on the mining value chain.

Ecosystem Assessment, Restoration & Resilience

This group assesses impacts of mining activities on flora and fauna; develop innovative approaches to restore ecosystem services and practices that encourage recolonisation by native species; examine the resilience of ecosystems under specific disturbance regimes; discover and understand the utility of metallophyte plants; create approaches for the recovery and sustainability of disturbed land.

Addressing health and safety issues for gemstone cutters

Published on: 1 February 2019

University of Queensland researchers have produced a range of educational resources aimed at tackling safety risks for workers in the gemstone industry.

Newcrest and UQ working for a sustainable mining future

UQ and Newcrest working for a sustainable mining future

Published on: 25 January 2019

The University of Queensland and Newcrest Mining Ltd have agreed a new research initiative which provides funding for eight new PhD research projects to develop interconnected and systems-based solutions for a sustainable mining future.