Australia and Chile sign global mining agreement at Government House
Last night CSIRO Chief Executive, Dr Megan Clark signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at an event hosted by Governor General, Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce at Government House.
The event was held in honour of Chilean President, His Excellency Mr Sebastian Piñera and was attended by Chilean Ambassador, His Excellency Mr Pedro Pablo Diaz Herrera and esteemed guests from Chile and Australia.
“In mining and minerals research this MoU is an important step in broadening our ongoing partnership and we are excited by the opportunities it will present.”
CSIRO Chief Executive, Dr Megan Clark
The MoU was one of three signed between Australia and Chile during the President’s two day visit to Australia.
“The signing of three MoUs between Australia and Chile demonstrates our commitment to tackling common challenges together. This commitment spans many sectors including trade, investment, education, research, security and environmental sustainability,” Ambassador Diaz said.
Dr Clark said CSIRO has collaborated with Chile in around ten projects per year for the last decade.
“In mining and minerals research this MoU is an important step in broadening our ongoing partnership and we are excited by the opportunities it will present. I thank Chile’s Minister for Mines, the Honourable Mr Hernán de Solminihac for joining us in this venture,” Dr Clark said.
Both parties are focused on fostering innovation and technology development and investing in vocational training and post graduate opportunities.
“We aim to improve the competitiveness of both our mining and minerals sectors through cooperation in education, health, safety and technological research and development,” Dr Clark said.
CSIRO is currently working closely with Chile on minerals research in a major new collaborative initiative – the CSIRO Chile International Centre of Excellence in Mining and Mineral Processing. The centre is working with industry and leading Chilean Universities to develop cutting-edge technologies to reduce the environmental impact of mining and increase its productivity.
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Dr Megan Clark signs the MoU in the presence of (L-R): His Excellency Mr Alfredo Moreno Charme, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Chile, His Excellency Mr Sebastián Piñera Echenique, President of the Republic of Chile, Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce, Governor General, His Excellency Mr Michael Bryce, AM AE KStJ and the Hon Mark Dreyfus QC MP, Cabinet Secretary and Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change.