Research

Research overview and recent examples

The Centre’s ​‘Research Themes’

The Centre’s Research Projects are directly aligned to delivery of the Centre’s Objectives:

Centre Objective 1: Early gangue (waste) rejection, achieved through technology advances in coarse particle beneficiation, to minimise energy and water consumption

  • Research Theme 1: Early Gangue Rejection: Removal of waste ore at coarse particle sizes to pre-concentrate the ore, and hence reduce energy consumption in grinding hard rock and water losses to tailings 
  • Research supporting Theme 1 is focused on the recovery of minerals at coarse particle sizes, while rejecting liberated and near-barren gangue particle

Centre Objective 2: Fast, efficient beneficiation to minimise losses of high value metals, achieved through technology advances in fine particle beneficiation, to maximise resource recovery and product grade

  • Research Theme 2: Fine Particle Separation: More efficient processing of fine particles to maximise resource recovery and concentrate the product to reduce emissions during downstream processing
  • Research supporting Theme 2 is associated with developing rapid and efficient beneficiation technologies aimed at minimising the loss of high-value minerals, achieved through advancements in fine particle beneficiation to optimise resource recovery and product grade

    Centre Objective 3: Real time removal of solids from tailings, and rejection of water from solids, achieved through the introduction of novel hydrophobic interactions, and technology advances in dewatering (eliminating tailings dams)

    • Research Theme 3: Solid-Liquid Separation: More effective solid-liquid separation to recover more water and ultimately eliminate tailings dams
    • Research supporting Theme 3 aims to improve the efficiency of solid-liquid separations in order to recycle more water during the process, reduce the amount of water and solids going to tailings waste, and to make those tailings safe to store by dry stacking, ultimately to eliminate the need for tailings dams

    New ways to minimise energy & water use in mining

    The process of grinding rocks down to ultrafine particles (comminution) has a reputation for being the single biggest consumer of energy in the minerals industry. COEMinerals is delivering new technologies and innovative new ways to reduce the need for comminution, as well as reducing the size, scale, energy and water use during mineral processing (beneficiation).

    Maximising resource recovery and product grade

    We are applying advances in fast and efficient beneficiation of fine particles to achieve a 10 – 100 fold increase in separation speed, and significant reduction in the equipment size and scale. This approach helps to redefine economically what is a tailings stream. Our approach will be achieved primarily through enhancing hydrophobic interactions and novel system hydrodynamics, to increase product recovery, selectivity and product grade. 

    Dry Stackable Tailings (i.e. eliminating tailings dams)

    We are applying advances in​‘fast, efficient beneficiation’ of fine particles to solid-liquid separation in order to recover waste solids, reducing water losses and increasing water productivity, recovering targeted solids and exploiting hydrophobic interactions to enhance de-watering. Our aim is to eliminate the need for tailings dams.

    Our Programs

    Program 1: Program 1 - 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 Program Leaders are: Laureate Professor Kevin Galvin, Laureate Professor Graeme Jameson and Professor Bill Skinner Dig into the latest detail in our 2022 Annual Report.

    Program 2: Program 2 - Chemistry of novel hydrophobic and selective interactions

    New approaches to flotation are required to advance selectivity and to properly exploit the full-potential of hydrophobic interactions in effecting coarser separations, ultrafast and selective separations and a step-change in solid-liquid separation. Research Program Leaders: Professor Karen Hapgood, Professor George Franks, Associate Professor Liza Forbes Dig into the latest detail in our 2022 Annual Report.

    Program 3: Program 3 - New engineered biopolymers and synthetic polymers

    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 Program Leaders: Professor Chun-Xia Zhao, Professor San H. Thang, Professor David Beattie Dig into the latest details in our Annual Report.