RESEARCH THEME

Circular economy and waste

Research programs and groups

Mine Waste Transformation through Characterisation (MIWATCH): research group in the WH Bryan Mining and Geology Research Centre

Resourcing Decarbonisation: Strategic Program focused on addressing supply issues and what innovations can be used responsibly.

Global Centre for Mineral Security: research, education, technical assistance, and capacity building on the sufficient and affordable access by all people to the minerals necessary for human development.

Complex Orebodies: research program addressing the complex challenges of modern sustainable mining - this program of work finished in 2022 when Resourcing Decarbonisation was established

Ecological Engineering of Mine Wastes: research group in the Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation

Ecosystem Assessment, Restoration and Resilience: research group in the Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation

Highlight Projects

Finding alternative sources of sand – mine tailings: Investigating whether unused mining residues can be transformed into a viable and sustainable substitute aggregate material for the construction industry.

Geometallurgical technologies for mine waste: Improving methodologies for predicting the behaviour of future mine wastes.

See news and impact

Superpowered microbes could lead to mine waste management breakthrough

Published on: 9 October 2023

Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI) researcher Dr Jing Zhao has secured a major government grant to investigate microbes that have the potential to significantly accelerate alkaline mine waste rehabilitation.
SMI geoscientists contribute ‘critical’ work to new national mine waste atlas

Published on: 8 August 2023

A virtual atlas offering unprecedented insights into Australia’s mine waste sites has been released after geoscientists from across the country, including The University of Queensland (UQ), joined forces for a nationwide, collaborative project.
New Superstar of STEM championing sustainable solutions to growing mine waste problem

Published on: 8 March 2023

Sharing the environmental and social challenges facing an increasingly metal-hungry society will be a major aim for The University of Queensland’s Sustainable Minerals Institute’s (SMI) Associate Professor Anita Parbhakar-Fox as she steps into her new role as a Superstar of STEM.
From waste to wonder

Published on: 30 June 2022

The Mine Waste Transformation through Characterisation (MiWaTCH) research group investigates the characteristics of mine waste to support the industry’s work on their environmental and social legacies, and potentially find unrealised revenue streams.
Solution to world's largest waste stream: Make sand

Published on: 12 April 2022

A new study by researchers from the University of Geneva and The University of Queensland’s Sustainable Minerals Institute has found that a step-change in mineral processing could drastically reduce mineral waste and avoid a sand sustainability crisis.
ARC funding announced for new acid mine drainage project

Published on: 7 February 2022

University of Queensland researchers will collaborate with a multidisciplinary team of academic and industry partners on a newly announced project targeting the complex problem of acid mine drainage (AMD) from waste rock dumps at mines.