Four research students seeking to understand the difficulties and opportunities facing Western Australia’s (WA) mining sector have been awarded PhD scholarships funded by the State Government through the Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia (MRIWA).
The scholarship program was established to support the development and education of the next generation of thought leaders that can contribute to the country’s mining industry.
The institute has awarded Alex Eves the MRIWA Odwyn Jones PhD Scholarship, named in honour of pioneering WA mining educator Professor Odwyn Jones AO, to investigate the formation of the Speewah vanadium-titanium deposit in the Kimberley region.
Hyunjin Na has been awarded the MRIWA PhD Scholarship for Women to investigate new methods for extracting valuable sulphide minerals from WA ore.
Due to the quality of applications received, MRIWA has offered additional scholarships to Daniel Goldstein and Nilan Jayasiri Mudiyanselage.
Goldstein will investigate the use of machine learning to characterise ore deposits during active drilling, while Mudiyanselage will study new dewatering technology to improve mine safety.
The recipients will join a cohort of PhD researchers supported by MRIWA to support WA’s continuous minerals research and technology development efforts.
According to Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Johnston, the McGowan Government is looking to create a future where WA can be seen as a reliable, ethical and competitive supplier of minerals.
“Western Australia’s world-class universities are positioned to enable the inventiveness and innovation required to make that vision a reality,” Minister Johnston stated.
The Minister added that the scholarships attract some of the brightest research talents from across the world to support the future of mining.
