Minerals Down Under (2005 - in progress)

CSIRO is developing a new national Flagship which aims to add a trillion dollars to Australia’s mineral reserves and secure the long term viability of the minerals industry in Australia. Our group is involved in developing the Minerals Futures / Responsibility theme of the Flagship, which will have a focus on sustainable development issues. An information sheet on the flagship is available HERE. For more information contact mineralsdownunder@csiro.au

  Nanotechnology and Society (2003 - in progress)

There is significant international investment in nano-scale science and technology research, and increasing calls for social, ethical and regulatory issues to be considered alongside the science. This series of projects has focussed on initiating public dialogue on nanotechnologies and affecting R&D governance within CSIRO. Two public workshops were conducted in 2004, one in Bendigo in regional Victoria, and a citizens panel in Melbourne. An internal workshop for CSIRO scientists has also been held in 2005 with the aim of strengthening awareness of social issues and connections with research directions. For more information please contact Evie Katz and see our publications list.

  Lihir Social Review (2004-2005)

With the growing emphasis on corporate social responsibility, the social performance of mine sites is becoming increasingly important to assess. This pilot project designed a Social Review framework for the Lihir Gold Mine in Papua New Guinea and carried out a trial assessment of the framework with an independent auditor. The framework sought to provide an alternative to ‘tick-box’ type approaches and drew on emerging international standards and extensive consultation with Lihirian stakeholders. The research was a collaboration between CSIRO, University of Melbourne and La Trobe University. For more information, please contact Martha Macintyre

  Participation Processes (2004)

There are many calls to make science and technology policy and practice more accessible, transparent and 'democratic' for the community. The minerals industry, too, has many calls upon it for better consultation, engagement and participation with communities and the public. This project has reviewed the literature on the development and application of public participation processes. A report has been developed which introduces a range of processes and a framework that can be used to help select an appropriate method.  Completed in 2004.  For more information, please contact Roy Lovel.

  Mining Certification Evaluation Project (2002 - in progress)

Independent third-party certification of environmental and social performance has been developed for the forestry and fishery industries. This project aims to evaluate the feasibility of establishing a certification model for the minerals industry. It has attracted support from WWF-Australia, BHP Billiton, CSIRO, Normandy, Placer Dome and WMC. Fiona Solomon is being seconded to WWF for 3 days per week for eighteen months to work on the project. Please contact Fiona Solomon at fsolomon@wwf.org.au. More information is also available at MCEP site.

  Sustainable Development Policy (2001-2002)

This project, funded by CSIRO Minerals, was designed to provide insights into sustainable development principles and drivers for the organisation and input into ongoing strategic planning. There have been a number of significant policy shifts in Australia and internationally around concepts of sustainable development. Many of these such as the Global Mining Initiative, the MMSD Project, the Kyoto protocol, and concepts such as the Natural Step and Natural Capitalism have major implications for the minerals industry. Together these constituted a large body of recent  published literature which merited analysis and distillation of issues relevant for the Australian context and the CSIRO's research strategy. For more information, please contact Fiona Solomon. 

  Life Cycle Assessment (In progress)

A study on titanium dioxide and titanium metal production is currently in progress. For more information contact Terry Norgate. 

  MMSD - Research Paper (2001-2002)

This paper was commissioned by MMSD Australia with funding from the global MMSD Project.  It sought to analyse the material from the Victorian Communities research project around relationships between communities and mining and involvement in participatory processes, with particular reference to issues of power and trust.  Successive drafts of the paper were presented at MMSD workshops in Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide and Melbourne. The final paper is available :

People, Power and Participation: A Study of Mining-Community Relationships [PDF Format].

  Victorian Communities (1999-2002)

This project, funded by CSIRO Minerals, has been carried out in two stages.  The first stage conducted a survey of gold mining operations in Victoria to explore their management of community related issues.  This report is available on request. The second stage of the project researched detailed case studies of community perspectives towards mining in three areas of gold mining activity in Victoria.  Newsletters  were produced regularly and have been archived. The report for this second stage of the research will be released soon.

A conference Publication  is available.

  Life Cycle Assessment (2000-2001)

This project seeks to establish the environmental impacts of metal and industrial mineral production processes on a life cycle basis with a view to developing more environmentally-friendly processes. Studies carried out to date include copper, nickel, lead and zinc by both pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical processes, as well as  primary aluminium production by various process routes. Publication. For more information contact Terry Norgate.

  MMSD - Draft Action Plan (2000)

During August 2000, we prepared a Draft Action Plan for the Australian Region of the Mining, Minerals and Sustainable Development (MMSD) project. The information sheets we circulated on email to interested parties have been archived in the Newsletters section of this site. The Draft Action Plan for Australia is now available as a pdf document.

Luke Danielson's Powerpoint presentation from the MMSD information meeting held at CSIRO Minerals, Melbourne on September 8th, 2000 is available. MPEG videos of the two hour MMSD information meeting are also available here.

The regional presence of this project is now in the care of AMEEF.

  Wallaby Case Study (1999-2000)

This project, funded jointly by CSIRO, Placer Granny Smith and Placer Dome Asia Pacific, conducted a case study of the stakeholder consultation process for a proposed new pit, Wallaby, in Western Australia. The research found that most stakeholders were satisfied with their interaction with the company, but identified a number of additional issues around consultation such as uncertainty, the decision making process, and the relative power of stakeholders. Completed in 2000. Report. 

  AMEEF - 'Zen' report (1999-2000)

The AMEEF Travelling Scholarship for 1999 enabled Fiona Solomon to travel to the US and Canada and investigate how the minerals industry sought to involve its stakeholders. She met with a diverse range of people from Washington DC to Yellowknife. The report entitled 'Zen and the Art of Stakeholder Involvement' published by AMEEF in 2000 reflected on some of the underlying philosophical issues of 'engagement'. Completed in 1999. The published booklet is now available from AMEEF. A conference publication is also available.

  Verification (1998-1999)

This project, funded by Placer Dome Asia Pacific, examined a verification process for the Australian Minerals Industry Code for Environmental Management conducted at three mine sites. The report recommended more emphasis be placed on issues of performance as well as the systems in place to support that. Completed in 1999. Report, Publication.