The Australian government announced that it will provide A$3.7 million in funding for a new national mining research and training centre called the ‘Australian Research Council Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Integrated Operations for Complex Resources.’
The centre had already received another A$2 million from different foundations plus A$6.8 million in-kind support from research and industry organizations.
Academic authorities say the new facility is aimed at making Australia a world leader in integrated mining and a hub for mining equipment, technology and services
Based at the University of Adelaide, the facility was created to deliver tools and train the next generation of scientists and engineers in advanced sensors, data analytics and artificial intelligence.
According to Mike Brooks, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of Adelaide, the centre will help enable the mining industry to make real-time decisions and apply the correct and most cost-effective parameters or processes at any point in the mining value chain, avoiding costly unnecessary processes.
“It will also bring step-change increases in productivity via network connectivity and high-speed computation,” Brooks said in a media statement.
