The Parker Centre was established as the AJ Parker CRC for Hydrometallurgy in 1992 in Perth (WA) under the Australian Government's Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) Programme. In 1999, its research and technology transfer successes gained the Parker Centre a second seven years of funding from the CRC Programme.

In July 2005, the third incarnation of the Parker Centre, the Parker CRC for Integrated Hydrometallurgy Solutions, began extending its predecessors’ successful work addressing the needs of the Australian and international minerals industries.

Parker Centre III has a minimum funding of A$20 million from the CRC Programme, and A$15 million committed investment by its Industry Participants, over seven years.

The current Core Participants in the Centre are CSIRO Minerals, Curtin University of Technology, Murdoch University, the University of Queensland and nine companies operating in the minerals industry. There are also 12 Supporting Participants, including mineral processing companies, Central TAFE, the Minerals Council of Australia, the WA Department of Industry and Resources and industry suppliers.

From a small group of researchers working in different organisations with limited collaboration in 1992, the Parker Centre has grown to become a world-leading hydrometallurgical research organisation.

The Parker Centre has made important research advances in many aspects of hydrometallurgy (examples of research highlights). The outputs of the Centre’s work have been applied widely throughout Australia and overseas. The independently estimated value (delivered and expected) of the adoption of the Centre’s research outputs by industry clients from the Centre’s establishment in 1992 to 2004 totals over A$540 million (net present value).

The Centre brings together a world-class team of researchers with diverse yet complementary skills, talents and backgrounds who carry out fundamental and applied research on behalf of the minerals industry, at laboratory and pilot scales and also at operating sites.

The Centre has 111 full-time equivalent staff members and 31 students (PhD, MSc and Honours), and total resources (cash and in-kind) of A$75.7 million over the current seven-year funding period. The Centre had a total cash income in 2006-2007 of A$9.84 million, of which A$4.67 million came from industry.

The Parker Centre is one of seven CRCs in the mining and energy sector. Together, the research of the mining and energy CRCs spans all aspects of this industry sector’s operations – from exploration, mining and processing to increasing sustainability in the minerals and power generation industries.

Importance of the Centre's Research
Almost everything we use in our modern technological society is composed of, or requires the use of, mined products. Hydrometallurgical processes utilise aqueous solutions to extract metallic compounds [eg alumina, manganese dioxide (for batteries) and titanium dioxide (for paints)] and metals (such as gold, nickel, copper and zinc) from minerals.

Hydrometallurgy is vitally important to the Australian economy: it played an essential role in the production of around 50% of Australia’s A$62 billion exports of metalliferous minerals and metals in 2006-2007.

The mineral processing companies participating in the Parker Centre (and many of them are major global companies) are responsible for around three-quarters of Australia’s hydrometallurgical production of alumina, base metals and gold.

The Parker Centre works with many companies involved in the minerals industry. These range from small single site operations to large multinational companies, and include mineral processors, engineering companies, equipment manufacturers and reagent suppliers. In 2006-2007, 77 companies supported the Centre's activities.

Within the Centre, chemists, metallurgists, mineralogists, microbiologists, fluid dynamicists and chemical engineers work together to optimise existing hydrometallurgical plants and to develop new hydrometallurgical technologies.

The Parker Centre has four main activity themes: Breakthrough Technologies Research, Process Fundamentals Research, Technology Transfer and Developing Staff.

The Centre's research spans two broad areas: Breakthrough Technologies and Process Fundamentals. The research activities in both areas focus on Australia’s three major markets that utilise hydrometallurgical processes: alumina, base metals (particularly cobalt, copper, nickel and zinc) and gold.

The Process Fundamentals work is directed at achieving the fundamental understanding of the science behind current extraction processes that is needed to optimise existing hydrometallurgical plants, for example by increasing efficiency and yield, improving product quality and minimising operating costs.

The Breakthrough Technologies research aims to develop innovative processing technologies to exploit low-grade ores or currently uneconomic, untapped mineral deposits.

The Centre's technology transfer activities are directed at effective adoption of its research outputs by industry.

Education
The Parker Centre is also working to develop the minerals industry’s skill base through education and training. The Centre’s Education Program is a core activity.

The Centre produces industry-oriented Honours, MSc and PhD graduates who have undergone research training in hydrometallurgy. Its Education Program has been recognised as a valuable source of highly skilled employees for the minerals industry.

The Centre's Student-Industry Research Program provides research experience to Australian and international undergraduate students during their summer university vacation, with the aim of encouraging further studies in minerals processing.

Continuing education courses are offered to professionals working in the minerals industry. These courses cover a wide range of industrially important hydrometallurgical topics. The Centre is also developing vocational training courses, in conjunction with TAFE Central, for processing plant operators and supervisors.

In addition, the Teacher Outreach program, initiated in 2003 to run activities for high school science teachers in Western Australia, is now building new networks with science teachers in Brisbane and Gladstone in Queensland and in Darwin and Gove in the Northern Territory.

Current CEO
The current CEO of the Parker Centre is Dr Steve Rogers.

What's in a Name?
The Parker Centre is named in honour of the late Professor AJ (Jim) Parker (1933-1982), Murdoch University's first Professor of Chemistry and a leader in the field of metallurgy in Australia.

Former CEOs
Professor Ian Ritchie was the foundation CEO of the Parker Centre from July 1992 when the Centre first opened its doors for business until January 2001. He was the driving force behind the Centre's creation.

Mr Mark Woffenden was the Parker Centre's CEO from January 2001 until June 2008 when he resigned after seven outstanding years of transformation and growth of the Centre to take up the position of Executive Director of Curtin University of Technology's new Resources and Chemistry Precinct.