EMBARGO: 7.00 PM, 3 SEPTEMBER 1981

A SPEECH BY

i THE HONOURABLE DAVID THOMSON, M .C . M .P .,

' MINISTER FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Ã¢ÂÂ   AT THE

AUSTRALIAN MINERAL INDUSTRY RESEARCH ASSOCIATION

Ã¢ÂÂ   BRISBANE .

ON '

3 SEPTEMBER 1981

Ã¢ÂÂ¢ AT

7pm

INTRODUCTION

TOO OFTEN THE TERM THE "FRONTIERS OF SCIENCE" REFERS TO OUTER

SPACE. . ,

BUT FOR AUSTRALIANS IT SHOULD REALLY MEAN INNER EARTH OR PERHAPS

"GEO-SPACE".

MINING IS AUSTRALIA'S FRONTIER IN THE SAME TECHNOLOGICAL WAY

AS THE FRONTIER OF SPACE FLIG HT. Â·

Ã¢ÂÂ¢ Ã¢ÂÂ   ' iÂ· . , . I

THERE ARE MANY SI ÃÂ I L A R I  T I ES BETWEEN THEM ___  S A FE T Y,  HI GH COSTS, !

WI DE TEMPERATURE V A R I A T I O N S  AND SOMETI MES DANGEROUS EN VI RONMENTS.

WE W I L L  HAVE TO USE THE SAME S K I L L S  THAT PUT MAN ON THE MOON TO OPEN

UP T H I S  F R O N T I E R .

WE W I L L  HAVE TO A P P L Y  THE LA T E S T E N GI NE ER IN G TECHNI QUES AND

THE LA T E S T COMPUTER AND E L E C T R O N I C  EQ UI PMEN T AND S K I L L S .

NEW TECHNOLOGY W I L L  L O C A T E,  EXTRACT AND PROCESS NEW RESOURCES OF

M I N E R A L S  AND ENERGY FAR LESS E X P E N S I V E L Y  AND MORE E F F I C I E N T L Y  THAN

PRESENT METHODS.

A U S T R A L I A  HAS BEEN A LEADER IN THE F I E L D ,  P A R T I C U L A R L Y  IN USING j

COMPUTERS IN THE M I N I N G  E N VI RO NM EN T .  ;

FOR EX AM P L E  A U S T R A L I A  DEVELOPED THE WORLD' S F I R S T  INSTRUMENT

FOR E X P L O R A T I ON  USING MICRO-PROCESSORS.

BUT WE SHOULD NOT REST ON PAST A C HI E V E M E N T S .

THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT E X P L O R A T I O N ,  PROCESSING AND M I N E  CONTROL

INSTRUMENTS W I L L  BE A LOT SMARTER IN THE FUTUR E.

IN 'THE U N I T E D STATES SEI SMOLOGY IS NOW THE SECOND LARGEST USER

OF COMPUTERS A F TER THE A M E R I C A N GOVERNMENT.

AND BI GGER AND MORE POWERFUL COMPUTERS W I L L  BE NEEDED FOR LARGE SCALE |

THREE D I M E N S I O N A L  I M A G I NG  OF THE E A R T H ' S  I N T E R I O R .  :

THERE W ILL ALSO BE A PARALLEL NEED TO INTERPRET THE DATA COMING

FROM THE.NEW COLLECTION METHODS.

GEOLOGISTS W ILL ALSO MAKE GREATER USE OF SATELLITES . . .  LANDSAT

AND GEOSTAT FOR EXAMPLE.

THERE ARE ALSO PLANS TO PUT UP SATELLITES TO MEASURE THE EARTH'S

MAGNETIC FIELD AND HEAT RADIATION.

WITH THESE AIDS, GEOLOGISTS ARE IMPROVING THEIR A B IL IT Y  TO LOOK

BENEATH THE SURFACE AND IDENTIFY NEW RESOURCES WITHOUT EVEN

HAVING TO DRILL A HOLE.

I GUESS YOU COULD SAY THAT GEOLOGISTS AND OTHER GEO-SCIENTISTS ARE

TRADING IN THEIR ROCK HAMMERS FOR SATELLITES AND COMPUTERS.

THE AUSTRALIAN MINERALS INDUSTRY APPRECIATES THE NEED FOR RESEARCH.

I KNOW THERE HAS BEEN A GROWTH OF SUPPORT FOR THE AUSTRALIAN

MINERAL INDUSTRY RESEARCH ASSOCIATION OVER THE YEARS.

AMIRA PROVIDES AN EXCELLENT INTERFACE BETWEEN GOVERNMENT RESEARCH

ORGANISATIONS AND INDUSTRY.

THIS IS TREMENDOUSLY HEALTHY FOR THE FUTURE OF GEOSCIENCE IN

AUSTRALIA. .

AMIRA -  CSIRO RELATIONSHIPS

AMIRA HAS A CLOSE AND VERY POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH CSIRO.

THE BENEFITS OF THIS RELATIONSHIP FLOW BOTH WAYS: '

-  AMIRA, FOR EXAMPLE, GREATLY ASSISTS CSIRO TO UNDERSTAND

' -  THE NEEDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MINERAL INDUSTRIES. THIS

UNDERSTANDING MEANS. EACH CSIRO TAX DOLLAR CAN BE

SPENT MORE EFFECTIVELY.

-  AMIRA ACCELERATES CSIRO'S RESEARCH THROUGH CASH AND KIND.

AM IRA CONTRIBUTED $945,000 TO CSIRO IN THE 1980-81 FINANCIAL

. YEAR AS ITS SHARE OF COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH PROJECTS.

-  AMIRA PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN CREATING MARKET AWARENESS

FOR NEW TECHNOLOGICAL PRODUCTS DEVELOPED THROUGH CSIRO

-  AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN THE ACCEPTANCE OF NEW TECHNOLOGY

BY THE INDUSTRY. '

ONE OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AMIRA-CSIRO RELATIONSHIP HAS

BEEN THE INCREASING SUPPORT FOR COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH.

WHILE THAT MAY SAY SOMETHING FOR THE RESEARCH C A PA B ILIT IE S  OF

CSIRO, IT ALSO SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT THE AUSTRALIAN MINERAL INDUSTRIES.

THE INDUSTRIES QUITE CLEARLY SUPPORT THE CO-OPERATIVE AMIRA

APRROACH TO RESEARCH.

ONE OF THE DOMINANT FACTORS IN THE MINERAL INDUSTRY IS THE AUSTRALIAN

ENVIRONMENT.

IT POSES PROBLEMS WHICH ARE NEW, NOT ONLY TO AUSTRALIAN MINING,

BUT TO THE WORLD.

WE ARE OVERCOMING THESE ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES AND IN DOING SO

BECOME AN INTERNATIONAL INITIATO R IN THE MINERAL SCIENCES.

THE WILLINGNESS OF COMPANIES TO POOL THEIR RESEARCH KNOWLEDGE

THROUGH AMIRA HAS PLAYED AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THIS ACHIEVEMENT.

THE DEVELOPMENT BY CSIRO OF THE SIROTEM GEO-PHYSICS EXPLORATION

INSTRUMENT WHERE "TEM" STANDS FOR TRANSIENT ELECTRO-MAGNETIC IS AN

EXAMPLE.

THE INSTRUMENT WAS DEVELOPED TO COMBAT THE SPECIAL AUSTRALIAN

CONDITIONS.

IT IS ONE WHICH NOW SELLS IN MANY COUNTRIES OVERSEAS. . ' /Â·*Â·Ã¢ÂÂ  'Â· Ã¢ÂÂ   '

THE DEVELOPMENT OF SIROTEM IS ALSO SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE IT INVOLVED

GOVERNMENT-FUNDED RESEARCH THROUGH CSIRO; INDUSTRY FUNDS THROUGH

AM IRA AND A COMMERCIAL LICENSEE CONCERNED WITH MANUFACTURE

AND MARKETING. '

AUSTRALIA HAS LED THE WORLD IN THE APPLICATION OF COMPUTERS

IN THE MINING ENVIRONMENT. ' .

THE NEED FOR EVEN BETTER INSTRUMENTS FOR EXPLORATION AND FOR PROCESS

AND MINE CONTROL IS EVIDENT. AS A RESULT I BELIEVE MODERN ELECTRIC

CIRCUITRY W ILL BE USED EXTENSIVELY.

PLANS ARE ALREADY WELL UNDERWAY TO USE CSIRO'S VERY LARGE SCALE

INTEGRATION F A C IL IT Y  IN ADELAIDE TO KEEP AUSTRALIA TO THE FOREFRONT OF

THE APPLICATION OF NEW TECHNOLOGY.

CHANGES TO CSIRO

RECENTLY THERE HAVE BEEN A NUMBER OF CHANGES TO THE GOVERNMENT'S

POLICY TOWARDS RESEARCH ASSOCIATIONS AND IN CSIRO ENERGY RESEARCH.

TWO DAYS AGO, ON THE FIRST OF SEPTEMBER, A NEW CSIRO INSTITUTE

CAME INTO BEING.

IT IS THE INSTITUTE OF ENERGY AND EARTH RESOURCES AND, AS ITS

NAME IMPLIES, ITS RESEARCH A C T IV IT IE S  ARE VERY MUCH CONCERNED

WITH MINERAL RESOURCES.

THE FOUNDATION OF THE NEW INSTITUTE IS THE FORMER INSTITUTE

RESOURCES.

WHAT IS NEW IS THAT IT NOW INCLUDES STAFF FROM THE AUSTRALIAN

ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION'S RESEARCH ESTABLISHMENT.

THE TRANSFER OF 300 STAFF INVOLVED IN NON-NUCLEAR RESEARCH WAS

ANNOUNCED IN APRIL BY THE MINISTER FOR NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND

ENERGY, SENATOR CARRICK AND ME.

THE CHANGES MEAN A BETTER STRUCTURED SC IENTIFIC ATTACK IN THE .

FOSSIL FUEL AREA, THE MINING OF ENERGY RESOURCES, ALTERNATIVE

FUELS AND RENEWABLE ENERGY. '

ENERGY CONSERVATION OF COURSE GETS SPECIAL ATTENTION.

THE CHANGES REFLECT THE PRIORITIES OF INDUSTRY.

THEY ALSO REFLECT THE IMPORTANCE THE GOVERNMENT ATTACHES TO A VIGOROUS

ENERGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM AS PART OF ITS OVERALL ENERGY

POLICY.

RESEARCH ASSOCIATIONS

RESEARCH ASSOCIATIONS ARE A V IT A L INTERFACE BETWEEN GOVERNMENT

AND INDUSTRY.

THE ASSOCIATIONS ARE FINE LY TUNED TO THE NEEDS AND PRIORITIES

OF THE INDUSTRIES THEY SERVE. '

AT PRESENT THE GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS FOUR RESEARCH ASSOCIATONS.

THE GOVERNMENT, THROUGH CSIRO, ALSO PROVIDES ASSISTANCE WITH

TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT.

UP TO NOW FUNDING HAS BEEN CHANNELLED THROUGH CSIRO.

HOWEVER I HAVE DECIDED TO CHANGE THIS. ,

IN FUTURE THERE W ILL BE A JOINT COMMITTEE OF THE DEPARTMENT

OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND CSIRO RESPONSIBLE FOR POLICY ADVICE

ON RESEARCH ASSOCIATIONS.

THERE W ILL ALSO BE AN ADVISORY SUB-COMMITTEE TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS

ON FUNDING AND ON PROPOSALS TO FORM NEW RESEARCH ASSOCIATIONS.

FUNDING W ILL IN FUTURE BE CARRIED OUT BY THE DEPARTMENT.

THESE CHANGES W ILL CREATE A CLOSER LINK BETWEEN GOVERNMENT POLICY ON  RESEARCH ASSOCIATIONS ANID OTHER CHANNELS OF GOVERNMENT SUPPORT TO

INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.

FUNDING FOR RESEARCH ASSOCIATIONS HAS RISEN BY 50% TO ABOUT $1 .23m

THIS FINANCIAL YEAR. '

AN EXTRA $400,000 HAS BEEN PROVIDED.

CONCLUSION

THIS COUNTRY HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BECOME A WORLD LEADER IN

MINERALS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND ALSO IN THE MANUFACTURE

OF THE ENGINEERING AND ELECTRICAL PRODUCTS NEEDED BY THE WORLD

MINING INDUSTRY.

AND AS THE SAYING GOES, YOU CAN'T WIN IT IF YOU ARE NOT IN IT .

IN THE MINERAL INDUSTRIES CONTEXT THAT MEANS THAT WE WON'T

WIN ANY PRIZES UNLESS WE BACK THE RESEARACH IN THE FIRST PLACE.

I - DON'T THINK THEREÃ¢ÂÂ   IS ANY DOUBT THAT AM IRA'S WILLINGNESS TO

BACK SENSIBLY SPECULATIVE RESEARCH HAS BEEN THE KEY FACTOR IN

OUR ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE PAST -  AND W ILL BE IN THE FUTURE.

