The CSIRO’s mineral resources value chain is covered by four ‘Minerals Down Under’ (MDU) research themes. They are:
- Discovering Australia’s Mineral resources
- Transforming the Future Mine
- Securing the Future of Australia’s Carbon Steel Materials Industry
- Creating Wealth through Advanced Process Technologies
Two additional themes fulfil an overarching role across the value chain – Driving Sustainability through System Innovation and Transforming Productivity through On-line Analysis.
Mr Jonathan Law, Theme Leader, Discovering Australia’s Mineral resources
Jonathan Law
The goal is to facilitate the discovery of A$250 billion of new mineral resources in Australia by 2030. CSIRO is working with mineral explorers and government agencies to increase Australia’s prospectivity. The integrated R&D program focuses on the unique challenges of the Australian landscape and its geological endowment and architecture to drive exploration success and reduce the significant risks associated with mineral exploration. +61 3 95458764; [email protected]
Mr Jock Cunningham, Theme Leader, Transforming the Future Mine
Jock Cunningham
The goal is to transform the Australian mining industry by developing and applying the next generation of safe, geologically intelligent mining and drilling systems that are automated and/or controlled via secure internet connection. CSIRO is developing integrated light weight drilling equipment to deliver real-time rock characterisation data, selective rock extraction systems with optimised real-time mine planning and non-entry underground mining technologies. +61 7 3327 4699; [email protected]
Dr Ralph Holmes, Theme Leader, Securing the Future of Australia’s Carbon Steel Materials Industry
Dr Ralph Holmes
The goal is to develop new processing technologies for carbon steel materials to unlock over A$500 billion of currently sub-economic deposits and maintain Australia’s dollar share of the world carbon steel materials market. This Theme seeks to sustain the viability of the Australian carbon steel raw materials industry – iron ore, manganese ore and coking coal – collectively worth more than $50 billion a year in exports, by unlocking Australia’s massive sub-economic deposits and maximising their value and attractiveness in the international market place. +61 3 9545 8606; [email protected]
Dr John Farrow, Theme Leader, Creating Wealth through Advanced Process Technologies
Dr John Farrow
The goals are to provide the means to increase process productivity to generate benefits greater than A$750 million (NPV) by 2015, unlock over $300 billion of in situ value by 2030, and double the size of the mineral processing related services and technology sector by 2015. The Theme is providing the means to improve the performance of existing mineral processing operations and contributing to the development of new processes to extract value from low grade or complex ores. It addresses key commodities such as cobalt, copper, gold, mineral sands, nickel, tin, uranium and zinc. It also supports emerging opportunities to produce new products or to process ores currently considered to be un-economic due to low grade or complex mineralogy. +61 8 9334 8020; [email protected]
Dr Sharif Jahanshahi, Theme Leader, Driving Sustainability through System Innovation
Dr Sharif Jahanshahi
The goal is to deliver national benefit and an ongoing ‘license to operate’ for the Australian minerals industry through innovative solutions that cross business and discipline boundaries to reduce environmental impact and increase social dividend. Specific objectives are to reduce average unit greenhouse gas emissions, average unit water usage and average unit residue production of the Australian minerals sector by 20 per cent by 2025. This is an overarching Theme that is involved in the entire minerals sector value chain. +61 3 9545 8621; [email protected]
Dr Nick Cutmore, Theme Leader, Transforming Productivity through On-line analysis
Dr Nick Cutmore
The goal is to develop breakthrough technologies and commercial strategies that address major on-line measurement opportunities in the minerals, process and security arenas. This is an overarching Theme that is involved in the entire minerals sector value chain. Technology in mineralogical analysis, elemental analysis, particle size analysis, soft sensing and imaging is being developed into market-ready instrument products for industrial application. +61 2 9710 6704; [email protected]