The PRIF Mining Consortium Final Research Conference 2023

The PRIF Mining Consortium Final Research Conference 2023 was a big success! The conference was held on Wednesday 18th October 2023 at the National Wine Centre of Australia, Adelaide. 

This all-day event was specifically designed to showcase the inventions and innovations of the PRIF Mining Consortium and the Training Centre’s research teams, and celebrate the many achievements both in peoples research and in peoples personal lives. It was also a celebration of the PRIF Mining Consortium research program that will conclude in August 2024, but which has proven to not only a success scientifically but also a demonstration of how government, academia from the two universities and industry can work effectively together towards shared goals. It is also worth noting how the PRIF has been exemplary in showcasing valuable synergies between the two universities (UoA and UniSA) during the ongoing merger process. 

Big thank you to our dedicated Researchers and their Supervisors for their commitment to their work and passion for research and innovation. 

Many thanks to our esteemed Guest Speakers for their valuable contributions and insightful presentations: Professor Michael Goodsite, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Energy Futures) & Director, Institute for Sustainability, Energy and Resources at the University of Adelaide; Dr. Bronwyn Camac, Director of Geological Survey of South Australia, Department for Energy and Mining; Brett Triffett, Innovation Practice Lead with Think & Act Differently, BHP; Adrian Beer, Chief Executive Officer at METS Ignited; Simon Ratcliffe, Chief Technology Officer, Maptek; Dr Christopher Greet, Manager Metallurgy, Minerals Processing Research, Magotteaux; and Max Zanin, Managing Director, MZ Minerals, Adjunct A/Prof at the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia. 

A special thank you to our Industry Partners, End-users and the State Government for their continued support, collaboration and contributions to bridging the gap between academia and the real-world applications of research. 

Thanks to ARC Training Centre Members for their contribution and support. 

We look forward to further collaborations and the opportunity to work together towards our shared goal of making a positive impact. 

The PRIF achievements in numbers: 

• 6.5-year S.A. government initiative started in October 2017. 
• 17 industry partners and 2 university partners. 
• 2 Programs: Program A and Program B. Program A focus is the optimisation of Upstream processes of the mining value chain, while Program B focuses on mineral processing – Downstream. 
• 14 research projects (RP) and 11 translation projects (TP). 
• 15 chief investigators in mining, mineral processing and computer science, 8 postdoctoral researchers, 10 higher degree by research students, and numerous Honours and Masters students.. 
• 161 publications to date, with 123 of these published. 
• 17 Women in Mining Technology Scholarships awarded by the PRIF Mining Consortium. 
• 21 research and translation projects out of 25 are completed. 
• 4 projects selected as potentially implementable to be commercialised during the 18-month Consortium extension. 
• 1 commendation for Innovation and Collaboration in the Resource Sector, Premier’s Awards in Mining and Energy (2022) 

PRIF Mining Consortium Management team:

• Professor Nigel Cook, Director, University of Adelaide
• Dr Tatiana Khmeleva, Program Manager, University of Adelaide