The hub will be located at the Chamber of Mineral and Energy of Western Australia’s Kalgoorlie office and has been established in conjunction with the Cooperative Research Centre for Optimising Resource Extraction (CRC ORE).

The hub will house some of Australia’s best scientists, engineers and mining experts, and is aimed at stimulating growth and innovation.

CME CEO Reg Howard-Smith said Kalgoorlie-Boulder’s close proximity to several operating mine sites made it the natural choice as the site for the new hub, which aimed to innovate and add significant value to the WA resources sector.
 
“This new hub will strengthen Western Australia’s reputation as a world-leader in the extraction and processing of previous metals and cement our standing as a centre of excellence in mining education and research,” he said.
 
“CME is thrilled to be playing such an important role in this project, which will go a long way in ensuring the long-term sustainability and profitability of the industry.
 
“Ultimately, we are looking to ensure Western Australia produces the highest quality product at the lowest cost with minimal environmental impact, and it is through the use of new technologies that we can achieve this.”
 
Other inaugural partners of the project include Curtin University’s Western Australian School of Mines (WASM), the Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia (MRIWA), METS Ignited, an Industry Growth Centre funded by the Australian government, the Central Regional TAFE and the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.
 
The hub will also serve as a centre of excellence for technical knowledge transfer and will be used to train professionals to further grow capability and capacity locally and interstate.

The boost to Kalgoorlie comes after Northern Star Resources announced in August that it would invest A$50 million over 10 years at WASM in the town to create an underground mining centre of excellence.