http://www.engineeringcareer.net.au/
PhD Scholarship: Simulation of low-grade copper ore heap leaching processing
Acknowledgement of Country
CSIRO acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land, sea and waters, of the area that we live and work on across Australia. We acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture and pay our respects to their Elders past and present. View our vision towards reconciliation.
The Opportunity
This CSIRO-RMIT co-funded PhD scholarship is available to conduct research into mineral resources. The PhD candidate will gain intensive knowledge in innovative processing protocols for complex mineral processing, column leaching, and mining site environmental science through hands-on experiments as well as collaborations with CSIRO Mineral Resources experts.
The successful candidate will have a unique opportunity to work closely with researchers and technical experts from CSIRO in a multi-disciplinary team environment. The project will provide numerous research and development opportunities including:
(a) the development and optimization of innovative processing protocols for copper sulfide ores, especially those which have previously been considered too difficult to process;
(b) the development of new approaches/protocols toward acid prevention and mine waste management;
(c) Cutting-edge chemical analytical and mineral characterisation techniques: solution chemical sensing, mineralogy analysis, particle analysis, electron microscopy, and synchrotron technology.
The candidate should have experience in one or more of the following research areas: Mineral Processing, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Geochemistry, Chemical Sensing, Environmental Science.
Project Title: Simulation of low-grade copper ore heap leaching performance to enable accurate copper recovery forecasting
Project Details:
Heap, dump or dam leaching involves stacking of low-grade metal-bearing ore into a heap on an impermeable pad, irrigating the heap for an extended period of time (from months to years) with a chemical solution suitable for dissolving the valuable metals, and collecting the leachate as it percolates out from the base of the heap for further processing. This technique has been widely applied in processing of low-grade gold, silver, copper, uranium, and nickel laterite ores. However, in many operations the rate of metal extraction is slow - for low-grade copper ores it often takes two years or more to recover the copper.
This PhD Project will focus on better understanding the chemical and hydrological processes of low grade copper ore leaching and developing simulation models to predict the column leaching performance of low grade copper ore.
Location: Clayton, VIC
Scholarship: $33,000 per annum, plus a Tuition Fee Scholarship if required
Tenure: 3 years with a possible extension of six months
Reference: 87493
Eligibility:
To be eligible to apply you must have (or expect to gain):
International applicants must have the appropriate immigration approvals to allow them to take up the scholarship.
The successful applicant will be required to obtain and provide a National Police Check or equivalent.
Contact: For more information, please contact Dr Miao Chen on 3 9545 8847 or via email at Miao.Chen@csiro.au
How to apply:
You will be required to:
If you experience difficulties applying online call 1300 984 220 and someone will be able to assist you. Outside business hours please email: csiro-careers@csiro.au.
Flexible Working Arrangements
We work flexibly at CSIRO, offering a range of options for how, when and where you work.
Diversity and Inclusion
We are working hard to recruit people representing the diversity across our society, and ensure that all our people feel supported to do their best work and feel empowered to let their ideas flourish.
About CSIRO
At CSIRO Australia's national science agency, we solve the greatest challenges through innovative science and technology. We put the safety and wellbeing of our people above all else and earn trust everywhere because we only deal in facts. We collaborate widely and generously and deliver solutions with real impact.
Join us and start creating tomorrow today!
Applications close:
20 November 2022, 11:00pm AEST