The Mineral Research Centre is located at Perth in the suburb of
Waterford, adjacent to Curtin University of Technology and within a
Technology Precinct which includes Technology Park. The Centre,
constructed by the WA Government at a cost of $16 million and occupied
in late-1994, comprises three separate buildings housing the CSIRO
Division of Minerals, Curtin University's School of Chemical
Engineering and the Mineral Processing Laboratory of the Department of
Minerals and Energy. The emphasis on R&D at the Centre is primarily in hydrometallurgy as
a result of staff expertise, extensive bench and pilot-scale facilities, track
record with the industry and, very importantly, two of the occupiers being
partners in the AJ Parker Cooperative Research Centre for
Hydrometallurgy. Staff in the Centre have a long involvement with R&D
agencies such as AMIRA and MERIWA. The hydrometallurgical focus of the Centre complements that of
pyrometallurgy at the GK Williams CRC in Melbourne and the Centre for
Mining Technology and Equipment in Brisbane, to ensure that the mineral
processing industry in Australia has access to a complete range of
expertise and facilities to serve its needs.