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ABOUT COEMINERALS
from ARC Centre for Excellence for Enabling Eco-Efficient Beneficiation of Minerals - 2022 Annual Report
The ARC Centre of Excellence for Enabling Eco-Efficient Beneficiation of Minerals (COEMinerals) is creating more-sustainable methods to separate and increase the availability of Minerals for our Future.
The transition to a net-zero emissions economy will be metal-intensive. Minerals are critical to delivering a greener energy path, being key components of many medical and other technology devices including solar panels and electric vehicles.
Australia is minerals-rich and minerals are likely to underpin much of Australia’s national wealth in coming years based on anticipated increasing demand, matched with the relative scarcity of some minerals or the increasing challenge of their sustainable and efficient recovery.
Despite minerals being a finite resource, many mineral separation processes are energy inefficient, and can be highly wasteful with up to 20% of minerals lost to tailings. Many processes have not advanced much in more than 50 years. It is time to change that.
COEMinerals is making mineral recovery more efficient, more effective and as a result much more sustainable.
COEMinerals was awarded $35M by the Australian Government through the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centres of Excellence funding scheme in October 2019 - and the Centre officially commenced on 29th July 2020 - to drive sciencebased and transformational sector change in minerals processing to make it more eco-efficient (i.e., doing more with less).
The Centre harnesses the talent and skills of some of Australia’s leading scientists representing diverse scientific disciplines, from nine Australian universities. The Centre’s PhD and early career researchers (ECRs) represent the next generation of research and industry leaders. Collectively
COEMinerals members are developing technologies, inventing world-first scientific techniques and enabling new capabilities for minerals recovery during minerals processing. Our ground-breaking research, discoveries and innovations strive to:
Double energy and water productivity in the mining sector by 2030, maintaining the drive towards the ‘zero-emission mine’
Reduce loss of high value metals during minerals processing by 90%, increasing the concentration of recovered products used in metals refining
Deliver exceptional educational experiences that enable, up-skill and empower a new generation of research, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and minerals sector leaders
COEMinerals members collaborate across borders and engage with the wider Mining Equipment, Technology and Services (METS) sector to understand and align research and design sciencebased solutions to solve challenging sector problems. COEMinerals has academic institution and industry partners and works closely with sector sustainability experts and community members to solve beneficiation (minerals processing) problems which will ultimately lead to sector change.
The Centre also engages in activities spanning academic learning, industry engagement, community outreach, site visits and skill building experiences including professional development and training programs. This ensures excellence in learning and helps build a community of researchers who are actively contributing to positive change in the minerals sector now and in the future.
The Centre’s Thematic Objectives
Objective 1 – Early gangue (waste) rejection, achieved through technology advances in coarse particle beneficiation, to minimise energy and water consumption
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
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 (getting rid of tailings dams)
