THE UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND Sustainable Minerals Institute Environmental Innovations

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THE UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLANDSustainable
Minerals InstituteEnvironmental Innovations
Opportunities
David Mulligan Centre for Mined Land
Rehabilitation The University of Queensland
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The University of Queensland

• Founded in1910
• 37,953 students
• 6,984 international
• students (107 countries)
• 9,934 postgraduate students
• 5661 staff
• (2408 academic staff)

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Internationalisation at UQ

• Guided by the Internationalisation Plan
• Aim is to engage with the broader international
  community in all of its teaching, learning and
  research aspects
• Increasing emphasis on a strategic approach to
  developing partnerships and linkages

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Faculties at UQ

• Arts
• Business, Economics Law
• Engineering, Architecture Information
  Technology
• Health Sciences
• Natural Resources, Agriculture Veterinary
  Science
• Science
• Social and Behavioural Sciences

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Research Institutes at UQ

• Australian Institute for Bioengineering
  Nanotechnology (AIBN)
• Diamantina Institute for Cancer, Immunology and
  Metabolic Medicine (DI)
• Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB)
• Institute for Social Science Research (ISSR)
• Queensland Brain Institute (QBI)
• Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI)

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Research Institutes at UQ

• Major contributors to the growth of the nations
  dynamic bioscience and nanotechnology, and mining
  and minerals processing industries.
• Institutes have been established with financial
  support from the Queensland State Government
  through the Smart State Strategy and Atlantic
  Philanthropies.

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THE SUSTAINABLE MINERALS INSTITUTE
The University of Queensland, Australia

• Professor Chris Moran Director

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PURPOSE
Sustainable Minerals Institute

• To be a world leader in providing knowledge-based
  solutions to the sustainability challenges of the
  global mining industry

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CAPABILITIES
Sustainable Minerals Institute
Research and Postgraduate Education
60 Consulting
15 Professional
Training 5 Technology Transfer
Commercialisation 20
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PEOPLE
Sustainable Minerals Institute
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DISCIPLINARY APPROACH
Sustainable Minerals Institute
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SUSTAINABILITY APPROACH
Sustainable Minerals Institute
Positive
Operations of the future visions of revolution
The operations we want could have
LEGACIES
The operations we have
EFFORT (PLANNING, DESIGN OPERATIONS, CLOSURE)
The operations we had
Negative
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SUPPORT/CLIENT BASE
Sustainable Minerals Institute
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SNAPSHOT
Sustainable Minerals Institute

• gt40 years experience in minerals research,
  education, consulting and commercialization
• Disciplinary roots
• production, environment, people
• the range required for serious sustainability
  research
• Industry linked and focused on results
• 250 staff and students and A35m p.a.
  expenditure
• Global presence activities on every continent
• Growing and developing rapidly

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Sustainable Minerals Institute

• Julius Kruttschnitt Mineral Research Centre
  (JKMRC)
• Mineral and coal processing research
• Ore characterisation
• Process improvement
• Equipment characterisation
• Mass balancing of process streams
• Plant modelling and simulation
• Application in process optimisation and plant
  design

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Sustainable Minerals Institute

• W. H. Bryan Mining and Geology Research Centre
  (BRC)
• Hybrid stress blasting model
• Improved rock charactersiation
• Blast damage modelling
• Geometallugical mapping mine modelling
• Mass mining technologies
• Process optimisation holistic analysis of
  energy consumption and sustainability footprint
  on a mining operation
• Development of a risk-cost-benefit decision
  support tool to quantitatively assess complex
  risks, costs and benefits

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Sustainable Minerals Institute

• Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation (CMLR)
• Landform design erosion management
• Mine waste and water management
• Establishing vegetation on problematic substrates
  and re-building sustainable ecosystems
• Development of monitoring methods that quantify
  rehabilitation risks
• Land use planning options
• Planning for mine closure and lease
  relinquishment

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Sustainable Minerals Institute

• Minerals Industry Health and Safety Centre
  (MISHC)
• Risk management for H S systems
• Accident and incident investigation
• Human factors and safe behaviour
• Manual handling and design of equipment
• Fitness for duty management
• Occupational health management
• Safety communication
• Spontaneous combustion
• Emergency response

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Sustainable Minerals Institute

• Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining (CSRM)
• Workforce turnover - focus on remote operations
• Community engagement practices
• Use of mine infrastructure to promote regional
  tourism post-closure
• Application of risk and opportunity framework to
  promote sustainable development within companies
• Community impacts of mining operations, including
  cumulative effects
• Contribution of mining to regional sustainability
  outcomes
• Industrial synergies in mineral regions

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Sustainable Minerals Institute

• Centre for Water in the Minerals Industry (CWiMI)
• Water balance systems -numerical analysis of
  quality and quantity inputs, storages and
  outputs
• Water reuse - understanding potential and
  limitations
• Reducing water - improving technical water
  management
• Closure planning and management
• Full costs and values of water - human values,
  water markets, policy

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Sustainable Minerals Institute
EDUCATION

• Input into undergraduate programs
• Postgraduate courses
• (on-line and in flexible delivery mode)
• Graduate Certificate of Mineral Resources
• Graduate Diploma of Mineral Resources
• Master of Mineral Resources
• Professional development courses
• and on-site training
• Strong postgraduate research degree program
  supported by industry

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INNOVATIONS AND OPPORTUNITIESMonitoring
technologies

• The increase in onsite monitoring technologies
  from a variety of sensors to real time
  communication
• The increase in remote sensing applications for
  onsite monitoring
• The improvements in computer modelling
  simulations and software development for
  visualisation and planning

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INNOVATIONS AND OPPORTUNITIESImproved water
management

• Prevention and remediation strategies for waters
  with salinity and sulfate
• Technologies to predict water volumes and flow
  paths in constructed mine landforms
• Management of final void water quality in the
  context of the post-mining land use

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INNOVATIONS AND OPPORTUNITIESBiodiversity
management

• Understanding and enhancing biodiversity and
  habitat values
• Building sustainable ecosystems
• As a component of their social licence license to
  operate, the industry is increasingly being
  challenged by their potential impacts on
  biodiversity.

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INNOVATIONS AND OPPORTUNITIESRe-thinking
landform design

• The two standout legacies of much of the open-cut
  mining industry are large mountains of
  unconsolidated material and deep holes, both
  domains which leave lasting and problematic
  environmental challenges.

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INNOVATIONS AND OPPORTUNITIESReducing risks from
tailings

• Developing mineral processing solutions to reduce
  long-term liabilities from tailings

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INNOVATIONS AND OPPORTUNITIESCovers designs

• Contain expected storm rainfall
• Prevent leakage to waste material
• Be resistant to erosion
• Be well drained to avoid water ponding
• Provide sufficient water for maintenance of
  vegetation during dry periods
• Are these requirements mutually incompatible?

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INNOVATIONS AND OPPORTUNITIESPlanning for
climate change

• Whatever the cause, if there is acceptance that
  the climate is changing, are we adequately
  designing the post-mine landscapes and
  environment correctly?

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Muchas gracias