Program
Creating technology solutions to integrate the mining value chain
Accessing resources is getting harder, mainly due to the increased complex geology at many of today’s mines. Complex ores require energy and capital intensive grinding for conventional processing, and many need high cost processing to separate the minerals from non-target elements.
The Consortium program is designed to meet the needs of our End User (mineral producer) Partners, who seek to add cutting edge technology to the mining value chain. Real-life challenges at real mining sites help anchor our work to tasks that will ultimately have genuine and profitable end uses.
Objectives
- Address challenges faced by our End User Partners to maximise value from complex resources and minimise environmental impacts
- Demonstrate the value of, and provide tools for, integration between all the stages in the mining value chain: resource, mining, ore delivery, processing and leaching.
- Commercialise technologies for global market opportunities for our Translation Partners.
Themes
The Consortium’s work aligns with five research and technology themes, each of which has major potential to optimise the mining value chain:
- Machine learning, artificial intelligence
- Modelling, simulation, digital twins
- Advanced data analytics
- Automation and robotics (remote operations and controllers)
- Sensing and monitoring.
Projects
The program consists of two types of projects:
- Research Projects provide innovative solutions to generic industry-wide challenges using basic and applied research. They flag opportunities for software and technology development in Translation Projects.
- Translation Projects create field deployable prototypes from promising Research Projects, or evaluate the existing emerging technologies of our partners, in a fast win-fast fail manner. Results guide further research and technology development, making sure the things we work on are of real value to our mineral producer partners.
Research and Translation Projects are conducted under one of the two Programs.
