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CRC ORE Phase 2: Realising the value of research - April 24, 2012
As the Centre approaches the half-way mark of its initial term, CRC ORE activities are moving focus toward developing and delivering technologies to transform resource extraction and the way it’s evaluated.
For the last two years, CRC ORE Centre projects have been focused on providing a foundation for the next stage of technology transfer. Eighty per cent of these projects will be complete by June 2012, and the Centre’s program structure is evolving to develop these research outputs for adoption by industry.
Phase 2 projects will demonstrate the value of cross discipline integration by consolidating the outcomes of the foundation projects from Phase 1 and furthering their development through to industry adoption. Coarse Liberation Circuits, Integrated Extraction Simulator, Predictive Environmental Indicators and Integrated Mine Planning and Evaluation, key projects from Phase 1, will continue to develop new tools and methodologies for the mining industry.
Mine site case studies will also continue to underpin the CRC ORE project portfolio, with ongoing work at the Telfer, Cadia Valley and Mogalakwena operations as well as new developments in Papua New Guinea and South America.
“Testing and validating our work will continue to be a primary focus of CRC ORE’s activities,” says Professor Alan Bye, CEO.
“Many CRCs produce great research which simply sits on a shelf,” says Professor Bye, “we’re making sure that this research is delivered to industry where it can make a real impact.”
(Click the image to see a larger version)
Developing effective research communicators - April 17, 2012
Over twenty Research Higher Degree students and Early Career Researchers gathered on Monday to learn strategic approaches for presenting their research to a range of audiences.The introductory seminar marks the beginning of a six week course designed to give researchers the skills to confidently present technical topics to their colleagues and peers, potential funding sources, and to family and friends.
As part of a commitment to developing industry ready graduates, the course was developed by CRC ORE and Dr David MacDonald of the UQ School of Physiotherapy, a professional speaker as well as researcher and educator. Dr MacDonald’s novel approach to coaching public speakers focuses on achieving performance improvement rather than imparting skills training.
With employers increasingly seeking strong communication skills from job applicants, Research Higher Degree students and Early Career Researchers need to have effective communication skills to articulate the quality and value of their work, which is often highly technical. This ability can have a significant impact on their performance at international conferences, when applying for research funding, and the quality of their relationships with their family and friends.
“Researchers are regularly required to give presentations, however there aren’t many opportunities to receive constructive feedback,” said Carol Bond, PhD candidate at UQ’s CSRM. “I’m excited about gaining the ability to effectively communicate my research to different groups of people.”
To ensure that all CRC ORE participants have the opportunity to take part in the course, Dr MacDonald will visit Hobart in May to run the course with students and Early Career Researchers from the University of Tasmania.
The course gradually exposes participants to different communication skills development experiences over a six week period, allowing them to identify the techniques that work for them before facing a real audience at a two day symposium in June.
Flexible Circuits scales up - April 2, 2012
CRC ORE’s Flexible Circuits project team had a busier Christmas period than most, taking over the JKMRC pilot plant to run tests on the 6 foot mill as part of their Unified Comminution Model (UCM) research.
Ten days of preparation culminated in three hours of milling, measuring the behaviour of different size fractions in the 300kg ore sample from Newcrest’s Telfer operation.
The experiment is the first time data has been available to the UCM for this scale of mill. “The UCM models the rules of interaction between particles in the mill, however there’s always issues maintaining validity as you scale up the results,” says Simon Michaux, 2IC on the project. “These tests enable us to better examine the accuracy of our models.”
Furthermore, data from the test could be used to examine the possibility of upgrading the Telfer ore by adding a low energy scrubber to the circuit to boost its efficiency.
Working on the mill is also an opportunity for undergraduate engineering students at UQ to take a closer look at life as a postgraduate researcher. The project has employed five students through the vacation scholarships program to assist with preparing and handling the samples.
The vacation scholarships program develops practical skills for students while providing research projects with additional manpower. CRC ORE invites expressions of interest from projects that may be interested in the scheme over the summer or winter breaks.
For more information, please contact Communications Officer Tim Howard.
The experiment is the first time data has been available to the UCM for this scale of mill. “The UCM models the rules of interaction between particles in the mill, however there’s always issues maintaining validity as you scale up the results,” says Simon Michaux, 2IC on the project. “These tests enable us to better examine the accuracy of our models.”
Furthermore, data from the test could be used to examine the possibility of upgrading the Telfer ore by adding a low energy scrubber to the circuit to boost its efficiency.Working on the mill is also an opportunity for undergraduate engineering students at UQ to take a closer look at life as a postgraduate researcher. The project has employed five students through the vacation scholarships program to assist with preparing and handling the samples.
The vacation scholarships program develops practical skills for students while providing research projects with additional manpower. CRC ORE invites expressions of interest from projects that may be interested in the scheme over the summer or winter breaks.
For more information, please contact Communications Officer Tim Howard.
New State of the Art Mass Mining Course - February 17, 2012
Brisbane will host a new three day course on Mass Mining Design and Planning on March 5-7th 2012.
Mass mining, which includes large scale underground caving and open pit methods, is increasingly becoming the preferred method for mining major commodities such as copper, gold, silver and iron ore due to the deep, low grade ore deposits available to be mined. Presently there are an insufficient number of suitably qualified engineers in the technical aspects of mass mining design and planning.The workshop will cover the basic knowledge required to determine mass mining options up to the completion of a pre-feasibility study. In addition to information on current best practice, the workshop will cover the latest findings from the International Caving Study (ICS) and Mass Mining Technology (MMT) projects, led by discipline specialist Professor Gideon Chitombo at The University of Queensland.
Speakers include Professor Gideon Chitombo of the Bryan Research Centre (BRC), Dr John Read (CSIRO), Brian Hall (AMC) and Alan Guest from Alan Guest Consulting.
CRC ORE’s has funded the development of the course to ensure that over a decade of innovation in Mass Mining Design and Planning is transferred to industry. The 3-day course will be an excellent opportunity for mining industry personnel and consultants to expand their knowledge of this growing field and learn from industry leading researchers on the topic.
For more information please see the brochure here, or click here to register here.
CRC ORE Kicks Off 2012 - February 13, 2012
CRC ORE started the year on a high note with the 2012 Kick Off Workshop in January, bringing together key staff and researchers to consolidate our vision for 2012. Researchers from The University of Queensland, Queensland University of Technology and The University of Tasmania engaged in knowledge sharing and collaboration during a day of cross-discipline talks and workshopping.
CEO Professor Alan Bye, opened with a presentation on CRC ORE’s research trajectory for 2012. Professor Bye spoke about the challenges facing mining today and the need for a step-change in mining practices as metal prices fluctuate, energy and water costs go up and social and environmental constraints on mining increase. CRC ORE will address these challenges in the upcoming year by focusing on cross-discipline research on mine-wide optimisation. Research outcomes will begin to be translated into commercial solutions for operating mines in 2012 as we enter a technology transfer phase.
The project leaders engaged in knowledge sharing on their research progress in the areas of resource characterisation, resource extraction and resource evaluation, setting the scene for an afternoon workshop entitled “Double the Metal, Halve the Tailings Dam.” Expanding on CRC ORE’s cross-discipline interaction that was a feature of the past year, the workshop sought to promote collaboration and engagement between the three research programs.
The day closed with an afternoon BBQ to celebrate the start of a new and rewarding year for CRC ORE.
The organisers would like to thank Steve Walters and Malcolm Powell for their efforts as facilitators during the workshop.
Carbon, Productivity and Prosperity report - January 19, 2012
A report by Vivid Economics and Norton Rose comissioned by industry giant GE, has revealed that Australia lags behind its trading partners in reducing carbon emissions while maintaining economic growth and prosperity.
The report examines carbon productivity across 6 economies over the past thirty years, measuring the economic wealth (GDP) generated per tonne of CO2 emissions.
Analysts identified two key drivers for carbon productivity: energy efficiency (using less energy to generate the same amount of wealth) and carbon intensity (emitting less pollution for the same energy consumption). Energy generation in Australia is significantly more polluting than in other comparable economies, and with the mining sector consuming more energy than ever before Australia will find it difficult to achieve planned emissions targets.
CRC ORE is significantly improving the energy efficiency of mineral processing plants through its Resource Extraction program, and is developing new tools to account for carbon emissions through its Resource Evaluation program.
Read the full GE report here...
New $3m Resource Evaluation Project - December 20, 2011
A new three year, +$3 million resource evaluation project will develop innovative methods of identifying and optimising the value of mining projects using large geomet block models.
The Resource Evaluation project, headed by Program Leader Professor Rodney Wolff, was approved at the recent CRC ORE Board meeting and will begin work in the New Year. Expected benefits from the research are faster delivery of mine planning options and alternatives, as well as a step-change in the consideration of risk in evaluation strategies and decision making.
The collaborative effort will bring together researchers from The University of Queensland, QUT and the University of Tasmania, and will receive more than $3 million in cash and in-kind funding over the next 3 years.
Professor Rodney Wolff of the UQ Sustainable Minerals Institute Bryan Research Centre will lead the project, with further UQ support from researchers at the JKMRC. The QUT team includes Professor Erhan Kozan, Professor Tony Pettit, Dr Helen Thompson and Dr Michael Falta, with additional expertise provided by Professor Roger Willett of the University of Tasmania.
The research teams will be supported by CRC ORE commercial partners CAE Mining and Quantitative Group, who will provide tools and technical support to the project. John Vann, Scott Jackson and Dr Sorousha Moayer from Quantitative Group will play a key role in guiding the research to applied outcomes for industry.
The project’s approval follows more than a year of preparation, and it is anticipated that the new methodologies will fundamentally impact the way mining projects are evaluated in the future.
Utilising extensive geomet data and inputs from other CRC ORE research programs, the Integrated Mine Planning Evaluation Platform will enable optimisation of mining and processing choices.
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