A multi-million dollar national resources precinct was officially launched yesterday in Perth by the Federal Minister for Industry, Ian Macfarlane.
The National Resource Sciences Precinct (NRSP) is a joint collaboration between the CSIRO, Curtin University and The University of Western Australia (UWA) and is aimed at improving Australia’s global competitiveness in the resources sector.
The NRSP is being described as “a portal through which companies and government can readily connect with world-leading expertise and gain access to infrastructure to address their needs. It also aims to replace competition with collaboration between the partner organisations.”
The inaugural Chair of the NRSP is Mr Graeme Hunt, the current Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Transfield Services..
“As the industry faces rising exploration costs and diminishing success rates, our dependence on innovative research and development has never been stronger,” Mr Hunt said.
“Instead of competing with one another for the same government or industry funding for research, the new alliance will work together to find opportunities for large-scale infrastructure projects developed in Perth and around Australia.
“I’m looking forward to working with CSIRO, Curtin and UWA, as not only do they have a strong history of working together, but collectively they host more than 400 FTE staff involved in resource sciences.
“With that extent of expertise pooled together, the opportunities for innovation are endless.”
Under the NRSP banner, the founding partners have already attracted nearly $17 million from the Science Industry and Endowment Fund (SIEF) for state-of-the-art minerals characterisation and Distal Footprint capability.
Recently, the NRSP’s Distal Footprints project was awarded a further $2.6 million in State Government funding to identify new methods of accurately predicting underground rock properties to help with mineral exploration.
By bringing together the best scientists within the partner organisations, the Distal Footprints project will deliver new data, interpretations, understanding and technologies to help discover mineral wealth in areas that have previously been difficult.
The Advanced Resources Characterisation Facility (ARCF) is also housed under the NRSP and includes three pieces of equipment, including the NanoSIMS probe, MAIA Mapper and Atom Probe, dedicated to helping researchers understand the properties of mineral and energy samples.
Mr Hunt said in his position as Chair, he would help the NRSP foster collaborations within the resources industry, attract the best scientists, mount infrastructure projects and link industry to research in an effective manner.
“Ultimately, it’s about getting the knowledge needed for tomorrow’s Australian resource industry, to help ensure its future success,” Mr Hunt said.
For more information visit the NRSP website www.nrsp.com.au.
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