Biomining

Biomining

Queensland is renowned for its coal and mineral resources. In addition to these natural resources, Queensland has developed superior mining technology and skilled personnel making it a world leader in mining resources and the industrial biotechnology that utilises these resources²³. The industry has "a worldwide reputation for providing solutions to the global mining industry using technologies such as robotics, satellite imaging, and 3D visualisation"¹⁴⁵."Biotechnology has many potential applications in the mining industry including metal leaching, metal recovery, impurity removal and product upgrading, treatment of acid rock drainage and other uses for environmental control"¹⁴⁶. Biomining "has developed into a successful and expanding area of biotechnology"¹⁴⁷.However, with demands for countries to reduce their carbon emissions and investigate more sustainable energy sources, the industry is looking at research and development to establish new low emission coal technology¹⁰⁸.Queensland researchers are currently "developing new clean coal power generation technologies" using industrial biotechnology applications¹⁴⁵ with the hope that they will "increase the productivity of the minerals industry and reduce its environmental footprint, both in Australia and globally"¹⁴⁸. The University of Queensland’s Sustainable Minerals Institute is one organisation committed to addressing the issue of sustainable development of the mining industry across a range of areas including "mining, mineral processing, water, communities, risk and environment"¹⁴⁹.*Please refer to the LSQ 2013 Directory for references.