
A New Dawn for Australian Minerals
ARC Centre of Excellence for Enabling Eco-Efficient Beneficiation of Minerals
An Opportunity to Make a Difference
The green economy, digital revolution, improved health and living standards all depend on metals supplied at a minimal environmental cost. However, the declining grade of the more accessible minerals, increasing complexity of mineralogy, and the growing need to extract the minerals from deeper mines, have reached a tipping point, making current practices technologically, economically, and environmentally unsustainable.

The Centre will develop transformational technologies for enabling a competitive and environmentally sustainable future for Australia’s minerals industry through:
- reduced environmental footprint
- significant reductions in energy and water use
- higher resources recovery
- future leaders to support the sector
This Centre will transform the minerals industry, establishing a new generation of research leaders to support the innovation needed in creating a green economy for future generations.
Enabling Transformation for a Greener Economy
The recovery and concentration of particles of high metallurgical value, known as beneficiation, is based on relatively mature paradigms. The industry has evolved gradually over more than a century, however flotation processing rates per unit of vessel area have not increased during that period. The waste, which often requires massive tailings dams, results in excessive water consumption, and risk of a catastrophic tailings breach.
With a projected global population of nine billion by 2050, and the demand for minerals set to soon outstrip supply, the industry faces an unprecedented challenge.
This Centre aims to transform the industry through research programs focused on three goals:
Energy and Water
To double energy and water productivity in the mining sector by 2030, maintaining the drive towards the ‘zero- emission mine’.
Mineral Recovery
To reduce loss of high value metals during minerals processing by 90%, increasing the concentration of recovered products used in metals refining.
New Generation
To establish a new generation of scientists and research leaders in minerals beneficiation to support the innovation needed to sustain the Australian industry.
Innovation Objectives
We will establish transformational technologies which will deliver the basic elements needed to address the need for unprecedented change to the practice of minerals processing. Our programs and projects have three eco-efficient objectives.

Smart Processing
The process of grinding rocks down to ultrafine particles is the single biggest consumer of energy in the minerals industry. The introduction of new technologies provides the opportunity to reduce the use of energy and water by as much as 50%. Such new technologies include new crushing modes to achieve fracture along the mineral grain boundaries, novel reagents and new separators to remove the waste rock at a coarser size.

100% Water Recycling
We will apply our advances in ‘fast, efficient beneficiation’ of fine particles to solid-liquid separation in order to increase product recovery and to recover waste solids, reducing water wastage and increasing water productivity. We will then recover targeted solids and exploit hydrophobic interactions to enhance de-watering.
Maximising Resource Efficiency
New transformational technologies will deliver a 10 – 100-fold increase in separation speed of fine particles. This will reduce the footprint and cost of the processing plant and promote a step change increase in the grade and recovery of the valuable minerals for metals production.
Interested in Learning More
If you are interested in; finding out more about our Centre; sharing your feedback and insights; or joining our team as a student or a researcher, click on the link below to register your expression of interest, and we would be happy to provide you with any additional information.
Our Program
Engineering
Physics of novel system hydrodynamics
Maximising the robustness, efficiency, and speed of separation are critical elements of any transformational mineral beneficiation technology. This will be achieved by building knowledge and understanding of a broad range of novel hydrodynamic systems to determine the potential to approach the theoretical limits of separation, traversing the particle size range of interest.
Research Lead
Laureate Professor Kevin Galvin
Physical Chemistry
Chemistry of novel hydrophobic and selective interactions
For the last 100 years, high value minerals have been ground to a fine particle size and then separated by adsorbing reagents, known as collectors, onto the mineral surface to make the minerals hydrophobic, and attraced to bubble interfaces. New approaches are needed to exploit the full potential of hydrophobic interactions for i) separating coarser particles, ii) ultrafast and selective separations, and iii) separating almost all the liquid from the mineral particles at the end of the separation process.
Research Lead
Professor Karen Hapgood
Polymers
New engineered biopolymers and synthetic polymers
Application of polymers as collectors in minerals processing is relatively new. Polymers have traditionally been used in flotation to suppress recovery of certain minerals, while high molecular weight polyacrylamides have been the foundation of flocculation in solid-liquid separation. New approaches to the synthesis of more effective and cheaper polymers are now available for exploitation in minerals processing. These could lead to better concentrate grades, higher mineral recovery and new polymers to achieve improved water recovery.
Research Lead
Associate Professor Chun-Xia Zhao
Addressing the challenges
These are problems that have not been solved yet. The green economy needs this to be done.
Mentorship, Training & Development
Mentorship beyond the standard PhD, tools, training, conferences, collaboration.
Delivering world leading impact
Enable a cleaner new economy through innovative, world leading research.
Our Team
Prospective Candidates
Minerals for our Future! Be a part of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Enabling Eco-Efficient Beneficiation of Minerals, an inclusive and collaborative national centre. The Australian minerals industry is undergoing a transformation in the diversity of their workforce and our Centre will reflect this too. We have a specific diversity target of 50% female for our centre but candidates with different experience profiles, or with cultural and linguistic backgrounds, are also very welcome to apply. You can be a part of our team of research leaders who will support the innovation needed to create a green economy and enable a competitive and environmentally sustainable future for Australia’s minerals industry.
For PhDs
We are looking for candidates with a science or engineering background. Please submit your One Page Expression of Interest with a short outline on your PhD interests; current qualification and experience; contact details and a brief explanation of why you would like to be a part of this Centre of Excellence. Please also specify if you are interested in projects in a particular state, institution, with a particular researcher, or in a particular research area.
For Research Associates
As out future leaders, you will have day to day responsibility of PhDs and working closely with relevant Chief Investigators. We are looking for Research Associates with experience in mineral processing, numerical modelling, particle technology, interfacial science, fluid mechanics, physical chemistry and polymer and bio-chemistry. Please submit your resume and include a brief explanation as to why you would like to be part of the Centre of Excellence; and if you are interested in working in a particular state, institution, with a particular researcher, or in a particular research area.