Gold ‘foundation’ for new research

The University of Tasmania has secured $2.5 million from one of the world’s top gold producers as a foundation client of its new mineral research facility. Newcrest Mining Ltd and the university signed an agreement last week in which the miner will contribute $1 million to the development of the facility, with a further $1.5 million in ongoing support over five years. The new facility is at the ARC Centre of Excellence in Ore Deposits (CODES) on the Sandy Bay campus. The new facility will use micro-analytical techniques developed at CODES to solve some of the challenges associated with defining an ore body prior to mining. The techniques can tell much about the type of mineral that occurs within a deposit and the trace elements, such as arsenic, which could affect the economic extraction and recovery of minerals. The result may be an economic mineral discovery within a shorter time frame and with lower upfront costs.