A lifelong commitment to sustainable mining has brought recognition for a highly accomplished and long-serving University of Queensland academic, Emeritus Professor Clive L. Bell.
The JKTech Award for Mining Industry Leadership – Sustainability, was presented to Professor Bell in Adelaide last month.
Professor Bell was executive director of the Australian Centre for Minerals Extension and Research at UQ from 1998 to 2006 and has authored and co- authored more than 200 publications.
He has supervised 59 PhD and Master’s students, many of whom have gone on to employment in the mining industry, in industry-related regulatory positions, or in consulting.
The inaugural award was presented to Professor Bell during JKTech’s eighth triennial workshop on Acid and Metalliferous Drainage at the National Wine Centre of Australia.
JKTech colleague Bruce Barrie said Professor Bell was highly regarded in the mining industry, and has been especially renowned since he founded the AMD workshop series in the early 1990s.
Professor Bell said he felt privileged to have been involved in environmental research and technology transfer in the mining industry over four decades.
“In that time I have seen significant progress in our understanding of the most effective ways to predict, prevent and manage acid and metalliferous drainage,” he said.
“However the industry still has some way to go.
“The message that prevention is better than cure – before you start, think of the finish – still hasn’t reached all those involved in mine planning.”
During Professor Bell’s extensive career, he has held the positions of Director of the Australian Centre for Minesite Rehabilitation Research, Director of the Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation at UQ and Head of Department of Agriculture at UQ.
He also has consulting experience in soil science and land-use problems, environmental impact studies and mine rehabilitation in Australia, New Zealand, Nauru, Malaysia, Indonesia, China and the USA.
The AMD workshop this year attracted a record number of participants. Industry specialists presented new research on treatment methods and future implications, and expert panel discussions covered topics including the future implications for AMD management in Australasia.
More information on the event can be found here.
Contact: Carling Reid, smikt@jktech.com.au, ph +61 7 3346 5919
JKTech is a global provider of innovative technologies to the international resources industry offering a range of cutting-edge technologies aimed at increasing productivity and metal recovery and reducing operating costs, while improving the long- term sustainability of an operation. We deliver world- class solutions to the minerals industry by providing products and services in ore characterisation and process improvement within all areas of the life-of-mine cycle including geology, mining, mineral processing and sustainability. JKTech Pty Ltd is wholly owned by The University of Queensland as the technology transfer company for all Centres within the Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI).
