Mineral wealth
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Australia’s mining industry will undergo a major transformation through the establishment of a $16 million minerals research facility.
A new Minerals Characterisation Research Facility (MCRF) will be located at UQ’s Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre (JKMRC) and be part of the University’s world-leading Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI).
The Queensland Government will contribute $6.1 million to the MCRF project through its Smart State Innovation Building Fund.
JKMRC Director Professor Ben Adair said the MCRF would develop technologies to enable Queensland’s billion-dollar mining industry to extract more from current mineral reserves.
“Mineral processing research is on the threshold of producing a critical mass of knowledge with the potential to create industry-transforming technologies,” Professor Adair said.
Professor Don McKee, Director of the SMI, said a sustainable and profitable mining and mineral-processing industry was critical for Queensland’s economy, where minerals represented about half of overseas exports.
“The funding from the Queensland Government, along with the support of our industry partners, will guarantee UQ stays at the forefront of innovative and commercially-relevant research,” Professor McKee said.
“The MCRF will help increase the productivity of Queensland mining operations as well as sustain our international competitiveness.”
MCRF partners include Xstrata Technology, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Anglo Platinum, JKTech, Cytec Industries Inc and Metso Corporation.
