Summer and Winter Research Programs for Undergraduates

Copper powers our world—from data centres to solar panels and cutting-edge green tech. But extracting it from low-grade ores and mine waste? That’s a tough nut to crack! This winter, dive into an exciting research project that tackles this challenge head-on, exploring an efficient, greener way to supply this critical metal.

We are testing a protonated brine technology to extract copper and other critical metals from low-grade ores and waste rock materials that are not amenable to today’s processing plants. This is your chance to help gather game-changing data that could prove this method’s worth and bring it to real-world mines.

What you will do:

• Figure out the best conditions for extracting copper from complex ore samples
• Unravel how copper minerals interact with surrounding “gangue” (unwanted minerals) in a hydrometallurgical setup.

This is a perfect opportunity for winter students eager to make a mark in sustainable mining. Ready to help shape the future of copper? Join us!

Duration and delivery: 4 weeks duration, 36 hours per week. The applicant will need to be on-site at the Indooroopilly Mine Site and/or UQ Long Pocket campus for the duration of the project.

Expected outcomes and deliverables: This is your shot to Join us to build skills, make an impact, and shine in the world of sustainable mining by exploring hydrometallurgy and unlocking the secrets of extracting copper from low-grade ores and mine waste. You will gain hands-on experience designing and running leaching experiments, examining ores and tailings, and digging into data analysis. Plus, you could co-author research papers and share your discoveries through a written report or oral presentation.

Suitable for: Suitable for UQ enrolled students in in engineering or science programs who are passionate about chemistry, hydrometallurgy, waste valorisation, and research.

Primary Supervisor: Dr Eric O Ansah, co-supervisors Associate Professor Anita Parbhakar-Fox and Associate Professor James Vaughan.

Further information: Interested applicants are encouraged to contact Dr Eric O Ansah if they have any questions.

Salt lakes are widespread throughout the world and make up a significant component of the world’s inland aquatic ecosystems and offer valuable ecological, cultural and economic functions. Hundreds of shallow and ephemeral saline lakes exist through the Yilgarn Craton of Western Australia. Within the arid to semi-arid regions, rainfall is unpredictable and episodic, and lakes fluctuate between wet and dry phases creating a highly dynamic and unique environment capable of supporting specialised endemic species (Williams, 2002). These lakes are generally located in areas which have little topographic relief and are predominantly endorheic and characterised by flat playas.

Understanding the hydrological processes of these systems presents several unique challenges due to the specific characteristics of these areas, including: their flat topography with minimal elevation difference and difficult boundary identification, inconsistent hydrological flow and fluctuating lake levels, the lack of defined waterways and discontinuous flow paths. This is further complicated by the lack of high-resolution topography and climate data and remote sensing techniques, like satellite imagery or aerial photography, may be less effective in these areas as salt lakes can create glare or surface reflections that interfere with accurate image interpretation.

Overall, delineating catchments in large, flat, salt lake areas requires a combination of careful analysis, local knowledge, and adaptation to the dynamic conditions of the landscape. The lack of distinct topographical features, the ephemeral nature of water flows, and the presence of salt flats create challenges that require specialised techniques and potentially innovative use of remote sensing, hydrological modelling, and ground-truthing to develop accurate catchment boundaries.

This project aims to investigate potential methods to delineate catchments for small salt lake/s and will include:

• a literature review of potential methods and data sources
• catchment delineation of a case study site based on high-resolution LiDAR data
• documentation of key findings.

Duration and delivery: 4 weeks duration, 36 hours per week. The project will be offered on site at the Sustainable Minerals Institute, St Lucia Campus. There is potential for the applicant to work through a hybrid arrangement, however, this will be assessed on an individual basis due to working with large data files. 

Expected outcomes and deliverables: The applicant will develop a unique set of skills related to catchment hydrology of complex systems. They will acquire experience using GIS and hydrological modelling software. The applicant will be asked to document their findings in a report, oral presentation or publication (depending on the project findings).

Suitable for: This project is open to applications from  UQ enrolled 3^rd - 4^th year students with a background in hydrology, civil/environmental engineering or geospatial science.

Primary Supervisor: Dr Robynne Chrystal

Further information: Interested applicants are encouraged to contact Dr Robynne Chrystal or Dr Pascal Bolz to discuss this project in more detail, prior to submission of their online application.

Mineral separation plays a vital role in the mining and resource industries, serving as a key process for extracting valuable minerals. The efficiency of separation techniques significantly impacts resource recovery, environmental sustainability, and the overall economic viability of operations. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations have become an indispensable tool for analysing the complex hydrodynamics involved in mineral separation equipment. By modelling the interactions between fluids and particles in a multiphase system, CFD provides valuable insights that contribute to improving separation efficiency.

This project is part of a larger research initiative led by the JKMRC CFD team, dedicated to leveraging advanced simulation methods to assess and refine various mineral separation technologies. The study encompasses a range of equipment, including the Conventional Flotation Cell, Reflux Classifier, Teeter Bed Separator, High Voltage Pulse Comminution Device, CrossFlow and HydroFloat System. Under the guidance of experienced CFD modellers and researchers, the applicant will be responsible for setting up and conducting simulations, followed by an in-depth analysis and interpretation of the results. The primary goal is to compare different equipment designs and operational conditions to determine their impact on hydrodynamics and separation efficiency, ultimately contributing to the advancement and optimisation of mineral separation technologies.

Duration and delivery: 4 weeks duration, 36 hours per week. The applicant will need to be on-site at the Indooroopilly Mine Site for the duration of the project.

Expected outcomes and deliverables: The project provides a distinct opportunity for the applicant to deepen their understanding of the principles and hydrodynamics that underpin mineral separation devices. Throughout the project, the participant will develop valuable skills in CFD modelling, simulation software, and data analysis. Furthermore, there will be opportunities to contribute to research publications, with an expectation to produce a written report or deliver an oral presentation summarising their findings.

Suitable for: Suitable for UQ enrolled students with a background in engineering or science and a keen interest in computational science and research.

Primary Supervisors: Dr Dion Weatherley

Further information: Interested applicants are encouraged to contact Dr Dion Weatherley to discuss this project in more detail, prior to submission of their online application.

Peptides are known for their target specificity and can provide a ‘green’ alternative to the traditional xanthate collectors used in mineral processing to recover minerals. This makes them viable solutions to enhance mineral selectivity and separation efficiency in the flotation of base metal sulphides. Moreover, due to their electrochemically active functional groups, it is possible to study peptides using electrochemical techniques.

Therefore, this work seeks to investigate the electrochemical kinetics and interactions between selected peptide molecules with sulphide minerals.

The project with involve laboratory work using electrochemistry measurements.

Project duration and delivery: 4 weeks duration, 36 hours per week. The applicant will need to be on-site at the Indooroopilly Mine Site for the duration of the project.

Expected outcomes and deliverables:  Applicants will gain an understanding of the importance of the interactions of flotation reagents with mineral surfaces from an electrochemistry perspective and the importance of the flotation process in the mining sector, gain experience in data collection, data analysis and may have an opportunity to generate publications from their research work.  Students may also be asked to produce a report or oral presentation at the end of their project.

Suitable for: Suitable for UQ enrolled students with a background in chemistry or chemical engineering or mining engineering.

Primary Supervisor:  Dr Susana Brito e Abreu; Co-supervisor Dr Lucia Dzinza

Further information: For further information regarding this project, please contact Dr Lucia Dzinza.

The induced polarisation (IP) technique is commonly used to visualize the physical properties such as chargeability and resistivity and is widely applied to understand the subsurface geological structure. The IP measurements have traditionally been used for geophysical exploration of disseminated sulphide deposits due to the strong polarization response observed with metallic particles. The electrical parameters of the rocks give information about the mineralisation of the rock, the matrix composition, and the polarizability of the formations. Induced polarisation (IP) is a trusted geophysical method in mineral exploration. Two electrical characteristics of the rocks are determined – the first is “chargeability” also known as the “IP effect”. The second parameter measured is resistivity (essentially the inverse of conductivity).  It can be measured at the surface, downhole and on individual rock samples.

The IP effect signal is derived from the amount and size of the sulphidic or metallic particles in the rock, and the conductivity is a function of touching conductive particles. Determining of the relationship between broken materials, whole drill core samples and downhole measurements could be a predictive tool for flotation success (or otherwise).

IP measurement of crushed particles is a new concept, that has not been explored at microscale. Therefore, this project will focus on developing a methodology to measure the irregular crushed particles and ground material.

Duration and delivery: 4 weeks duration, 36 hours per week. The applicant will need to be on-site at the Indooroopilly Mine Site for the duration of the project.

Expected outcomes and deliverables: Applicants will develop a range of skills in conducting experiments, the experimental method, and data analysis. Specifically, they will gain skills in induced polarisation measurement and sample preparation including crushing, grinding, sampling and classification.

At the completion of the project, the successful applicant will be asked to produce a report and/or an oral presentation of their project.

Suitable for: Suitable for UQ enrolled students with a background in mining, minerals processing or chemical engineering.

Primary Supervisor: Dr Ünzile Yenial Arslan and Associate Professor Liza Forbes

Further information: JKMRC Flotation Chemistry Group

Interested applicants are encouraged to contact Dr Ünzile Yenial Arslan to discuss this project in more detail, prior to submission of their online application.

Effective flotation techniques require processing feed materials within a specific fine size range in mineral processing, necessitating intense comminution processes for particle size reduction. Comminution, one of the most energy-intensive operations, accounts for a significant portion of mining operating costs and contributes to increased carbon emissions. Therefore, reducing energy consumption in comminution processes is crucial to mitigate the industry’s environmental impact.

Developing new equipment, like a fluidised bed separator designed for coarse particle flotation, presents opportunities for early waste rejection in processing circuits, enhancing liberation and reducing energy-intensive grinding requirements. However, limited research exists on the chemical factors influencing performance in this new hydrodynamic environment, especially regarding bubble size and bubble surface area flux determination. These are essential for optimising operations and fast-tracking implementation across various commodities globally.

Developing an understanding of how to control bubble size and surface area flux in HydroFloat®'s unique hydrodynamic environment is essential for enhancing unit operation and control. Implementing such methodologies will support equipment utilisation across various commodities, reduce global energy consumption for grinding, and mitigate the mining industry's environmental impact on the greenhouse effect.

Duration and delivery:  4 weeks duration, 36 hours per week. The project will be offered on-site. However, a hybrid arrangement is possible, if required, for several days over the duration of the placement.

Expected outcomes and deliverables: Producing a significant volume of high-quality images for bubble identification and analysis using MATLAB code. The analysis will provide insights into the types of bubbles present in the process and their sizes, distribution, and volumes. Collecting this data will aid in understanding the relationship between chemical and hydrodynamic parameters and their effect on bubble coalescence and surface area flux.

Learning outcomes:

• Gain knowledge of the fundamental principles of the flotation process, with a focus on coarse particle flotation
• Participate in a laboratory visit and receive hands-on training in using various laboratory equipment
• Recognize the broader significance of coarse particle flotation technology in promoting sustainable mineral resource management and improving mining industry practices
• Utilise the MATLAB code extensively for data analysis and interpretation
• Collaborate with professionals from diverse fields to tackle complex challenges in mineral processing, fostering interdisciplinary approaches
• Learn about the best practices of data analysis and develop presentation skills.

Expected results:

The project will yield high-quality bubble analysis data from images received using a MATLAB code developed specifically for on-site purposes.

Applicants will be asked to produce a report containing all the collected data and prepare a short presentation about the work performed, for the project team, at the end of the term.

Suitable for:  This project is open to 3rd-4th year applicants only from UQ's Chemical Engineering School. No prior background in chemistry is required. A basic knowledge of MATLAB will be beneficial.
This project will require diligence and patience due to the many repetitive tasks of analysing the bubble images.

Primary supervisor: Anna Skliar and Dr Ünzile Yenial Arslan.

Further information:  Interested applicants are encouraged to contact Anna Skliar to discuss this project in more detail.

This research project explores the fascinating world of mineral textures, micro-mechanical properties, and physical attributes to understand their role in breakage behaviour. By studying crack propagation in multi-phase mineral systems, we aim to separate the effects of individual mineral properties from overall ore failure. This knowledge could transform how we approach mineral liberation and resource recovery.

Duration and delivery:  4 weeks duration, 36 hours per week. The applicant will need to be on-site at the Indooroopilly Mine Site for the duration of the project.

Expected outcomes and deliverables: Students will gain hands-on experience in data analysis, and image processing while developing essential skills in data collection, filtering, and visualization. They will also enhance their proficiency in statistical analysis and interpretation. Additionally, this project offers the opportunity to apply machine learning to existing data, providing a way for potential research publications and presentations.

Suitable for:  Suitable for UQ enrolled students with backgrounds in any engineering discipline, as well as those specialising in mineral-related fields such as geology, chemistry or mechanics.

Primary supervisor: Carolina Carvajal and Dr Marko Hilden.

Further information:  Interested applicants are encouraged to contact Carolina Carvajal to discuss this project in more detail. prior to submitting their application.