Innovative Mining Solutions Presented at GRX25

ISER members were in attendance and representing the University of Adelaide at the GRX25, held in Brisbane, Australia. This major industry expo, presented by Austmine, connected industry leaders throughout the mining and resources sector. At the Innovation Zone, ISER researchers showcased two standout prototypes designed to solve real-world industry challenges.

Dr Hossein Ranjbar presented a demo of the MOVE (Mine Operational Vehicle Electrification) project, an innovative software tool developed for charging infrastructure design and battery sizing software for mining trucks.

"This was my first time attending an expo of this scale, and it offered an insightful contrast to typical academic conferences. The event was strongly industry-focused, giving me a clearer view of how mining companies present their innovations and where our research fits within the broader landscape of mining electrification." says Dr Ranjabr.

He also presented a pitch of their software to referees, "I demonstrated [the software] to a range of visitors from both the expo and the co-located conference. The response was encouraging, with many attendees finding our solution interesting and suggesting potential partnerships for further development."

Dr Cornelia Wilske and Professor Nigel Spooner were the only ones representing "Novel Fluorescence" (NF) research and prototypes among the universities. Dr Wilske shared their success, describing it as "really exciting" to demonstrate a prototype for the first time in an expo setting.

"We introduced our “Novel Fluorescence” (NF) research group at the University of Adelaide booth. Numerous expo attendees visited the booth, and saw our demonstrations and also received explanations of how NF from target mineral would fill the critical gaps for field-deployable, real-time, non-destructive mineral identification." says Dr Wilske.

"We showed how our innovative hand-held NF sensor can identify fluorine minerals at low concentrations, in real time with real samples. GRX25 was a great success for us, including from the perspective of spreading the word about our technique and making new connections to different mining companies. All the visitors to the booth who saw the demonstrations were highly impressed and really “got it” as regards what is a new technology for mineral-specific sensing in the field."

The expo offered a valuable opportunity to connect with industry, share our research translation efforts, and highlight ISER’s contribution to mining innovation.