R&D centre for minerals and energy opens in Perth

The south-east Asian Region's new centre for petroleum, minerals and mining research has been officially opened in Perth by Dr Geoff Gallop, premier of Western Australia.

Known as ARRC (the Australian Resources Research Centre), the $37 million facility houses over 200 researchers from CSIRO and Curtin. The concentration of capability at ARRC will enhance collaboration with Cooperative Research Centres, universities, resource companies and suppliers to deliver research solutions, services, technologies and highly trained people to the resources industries in Australia and around the world.

Initial mineral and mining research will concentrate on technologies that enable the discovery of high quality mineral deposits and how to extract them at the lowest possible cost with emphasis on safety and the environment. Mining research at ARRC will focus around minescale geophysics, terrain imaging, modelling and visualisation, geo-sensors, risk assessment, rehabilitation and hydrology.

Research for the oil and gas industry will focus on improving oil exploration performance and on preparing Australia and the region for the transition to energy sources in the future. As production of liquid transport fuels steadily decline, ARRC researchers are developing technologies that will enable the utilisation of Australia's rich gas reserves, and to convert gas to liquid fuels. A longer-term objective is to develop the new technologies needed to allow Australia to enter the hydrogen age in around 20 years time.

Item provided courtesy of Science Industry.