METS Ignited has been working closely with the Queensland Government to develop clusters of expertise, bringing together METS companies with miners and researchers to work collaboratively to identify new business opportunities domestically and internationally.
The industry-led, government supported clustering initiative was launched in June 2018, and met with enthusiastic participation from the local METS and mining industry.
The Brisbane-based TailingsTeQ cluster has over 40 METS businesses collaborating to deliver innovative, commercial solutions to the challenges of mine rehabilitation, contaminated tailings and mine-affected water.
In exciting news, technology company and cluster member GlassTerra, has announced a pilot a real-time structural monitoring proof of concept project on the Mount Morgan abandoned minesite which is managed by the Queensland Government’s Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy.
Mt Morgan, located about 60km west of Rockhampton is a legacy asset requiring rehabilitation to render the site safe, secure, durable and, if possible, productive.
Congratulations to METS company GlassTerra who have installed one of its Internet of Things LiDAR sensors at Mount Morgan and is collaborating with a global satellite connectivity company to demonstrate the safety benefits of real-time tailings embankments monitoring.
In this light, the Mt Morgan deployment is the first publicly demonstrated application of the TailingsTeQ cluster group and has great potential to deliver a significant reduction in risk and harm to communities not only in Australia, but worldwide.
Tailings and legacy assets have become a significant global issue, particularly after recent dam failures in a number of countries. As a result, these and other countries are currently drafting regulations to ensure the integrity of legacy assets are closely monitored.
