The Federal Government has announced a new round of funding to boost research in improving minerals processing and manufacturing.
A new Co-operative Research Centre for Optimising Resource Extraction (CRC ORE) will be established thanks to $34.45 million to fund activities until 30 June 2021.
The CRC ORE will be headquartered in Brisbane, helping to continue development of Australia’s mining services sector by targeting operational inefficiencies, and enabling the recovery of low-grade ore deposits in an energy and cost effective ways.
The manufacturing industry will also receive $40 million for a CRC until 2022.
Industry minister Ian MacFarlane said the centres would drive research for new developments for collaboration between industry and research.
“CRCs are a highly successful way of bringing industry and research organisations together to apply the latest research knowledge to the real-world problems facing industry,” Macfarlane said.
“More than 60 organisations, including multi-nationals, SMEs and peak industry bodies, will be involved in these CRCs.
“They will bring together a wide range of skills and knowledge, as well as financial support, to increase productivity in their sectors.”
MacFarlane said the CRCs would work in with new Industry Growth Centres to address common goals and priorities, and take advantage of the new integrated approach for dealing with challenges and market opportunities for local businesses.
“The Australian Government has put science at the centre of industry policy through the range of measures in the Industry Innovation and Competitiveness Agenda,” he said.
“Along with Industry Growth Centres which focus on the areas in which Australia has a competitive edge, CRCs will drive productivity, innovation and collaboration gains, and identify commercial opportunities to exploit global markets and generate new jobs.”
The Government will also invest more than $731 million over five years for all Cooperative Research Centres to continue their range of research, a system of some 200 CRCs which has been in place since 1991 and benefited from over $4 billion in federal funding.