ACARP

RESEARCH FUNDING

ACARP seeks research proposals that address key industry problems on an annual basis. The announcement seeking research proposals in the next round will be made in The Australian newspaper on Saturday, 22 March 2025.

The project priorities for 2025 and a Newsletter detailing the same is available

Closing Date

The closing date for proposals for 2025 is Wednesday, 30 April. Late submissions will not be accepted.

If short proposals receive a favourable industry review; long proposals will be requested as per the following timetable:

18 July - Applicants notified by email of success in moving to second stage, long proposal is requested.
20 August - Deadline for submission of long proposals.
Mid Dec - Applicants notified of funding outcome.

How to Apply for Funding

Examination of the ACARP 2025 calendar together with the Approval Structure will assist in understanding the ACARP approval system.

The projects selected in 2024 provide an indication of the areas of research of interest to the coal industry. The report summarising these will be available in late March 2025, but in the meantime see the 2023 Report.

Guidelines for the preparation of short proposals are available within the Research Priorities Newsletter. Each Proposal must have the current Proposal Summary Sheet attached.

Proposals should be emailed to ACARP (anne@acarp.com.au) after 22 March 2025 and no later than midnight on Wednesday, 30 April 2025.

Receipt of proposals is acknowledged by return email; if not received within a week of the closing date it the researcher’s responsibility to seek confirmation.

Priorities

ACARP is a collaborative program that utilises the experience and technical strength of both the coal mining industry and research institutions in solving technical problems and addressing issues of significance to the industry’s long term future.

ACARP is seeking research driving minimised emissions and environmental impact of industry.

Proposals should have the scope to deliver significant benefit to industry in the key and complimentary research areas. Safety and environment remain drivers in the program and will continue to be the focus of much of the underground work and a significant component of the open cut and coal preparation programs. Any proposed research project that is strongly supported by a mine site and is of interest to a number of coal operations is encouraged.

Priorities have been developed by ACARP’s technical committees in line with the key and complementary strategic direction and are separated into the areas of:

Underground
Open Cut
Coal Preparation
Technical Market Support
Environment and Community
Mine Site Greenhouse Gas Mitigation

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Underground Priorities

The Underground Committee is seeking research proposals to improve health and safety outcomes for mine workers, and to address the sustainability of underground mining operations. In particular, the industry is seeking proposals dedicated to addressing the following:

Minimise scope 1 and 2 emissions from underground mines.

Management of seam gas in ventilation and optimising gas drainage systems.

Extending automation and roadway development technologies.

Improving understanding of geological conditions to be encountered prior to mining.

Underground proposals are also sought in, but not limited to, the following complementary areas:

IMPROVED HEALTH AND SAFETY

Preventing harm from spontaneous combustion, ignitions, mine fires, extreme heat, explosions, outbursts, coal bursts, respirable dust, silica dust, ventilation and strata failures.
Improving understanding, detection, prediction, protection, selection and design of major hazard management systems.
Improving automation, remote monitoring and control.
Reducing airborne and noise contaminants: reviewing sampling practices, measure and control effectiveness and understanding risks associated with contaminants.
Improving emergency response measures: adequacy and effectiveness.
Improved psychosocial and mental health outcomes.

IMPROVED TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT OF COAL DEPOSITS

Exploration

Improved processes for the derivation of additional value from downhole geophysical surveys.
Geological features: Better resolution in the interval between surface and target seams with emphasis on near surface.

Resource Evaluation

Development of coal deposits with specific focus on detection and management of hazardous ground conditions and applicable mining methods.

Strata Control and Hydrology

Scanning detection methods for underground roadway monitoring, rock mass classification, ground movement and hazard detection.
Prediction of strata anomalies and discontinuities (equipment automation, monitoring data acquisition).
Gas and hydrogeology – Improved assessment and evaluation including:

Impacts of groundwater on stability and degradation of material and support system properties.
Impacts of mining on surface and groundwater including aquifer interaction and interaction with the mining horizon.
Impacts of dewatering and degassing on stress and strength resulting from gas drainage and/or production.

Improved strata support installation safety, equipment and practices.
Long term pillar stability for mine closure.
Implications of increased stress and load on strata.

HIGHER PRODUCTIVITY MINING

Roadway development: Improvements in advance rates and environment conditions leading to an integrated system comprising cutting, strata support, continuous haulage, logistics, and panel advancement.
Mine logistics: Efficient design of people and material transport and handling systems.
Remote control and automation: Application of advanced mining processes to increase productivity and reduce operator exposure to hazards.
Designs of lower seam mining systems.

MINING SYSTEMS AND EQUIPMENT RELIABILITY

Enhanced safety, output and energy efficiency, particularly targeting alternative power storage and delivery e.g. electric, through improvements in design, operability and maintainability.
Materials and manufacturing techniques: Reduction in weight, improvement in corrosion protection, fatigue and wear life.
Advancing the introduction of modern technology, particularly for electrical equipment in hazardous areas.

VENTILATION AND GAS MANAGEMENT

Improved assessment and evaluation of seam gas reservoir characteristics and potential interaction with the mining horizon.
Improved understanding and measurement of outburst risk prediction parameters.
Innovative gas drainage practices: Improved efficiency and effectiveness. Measurement of underground gas drainage system performance. Design of post drainage systems to minimise spontaneous combustion risks.
Design ventilation systems to minimise generation of VAM.

COAL BURST

Identification of elevated coal burst risk domains.
Establishing risk mitigation measures for development and longwall mining in areas that might pose a coal burst hazard.

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Open Cut Priorities

These are the significant and urgent issues for open cut research:

Lowering / removing emissions generation activities.

Alternative land use post mining that includes innovative business opportunities beyond the traditional vegetation replacement, especially if they promote overall GHG emissions reductions or transition from coal mining to land uses that support local communities.

Water contamination, use and efficiency management.

Tailings management alternatives.

Improved collection and utilisation of data to generate understanding of geological conditions in mine planning.

Open cut proposals are also sought in, but not limited to, the following complementary areas:

INITIATIVES TO IMPROVE THE VALUE TO MINING OPERATIONS

Mining Processes and Operational Efficiency

Improved productivity of equipment, including trucks, excavators, draglines, and dozer push operations.
Improved continuous mining technology, such as cutting technology for overburden and coal removal without requiring drill and blast.
Improved equipment efficiency, reliability, and extended component life (eg, tyres and key machinery).
Advanced methods for predicting and reducing catastrophic equipment failures and extending asset life.
Development of selective mining techniques, including thin seam mining and steep-dip (20–90°) extraction.
Enhanced application of automation and semi-automation to increase productivity, reduce maintenance requirements, and improve diagnostics.
Development of strata recognition technology for production drill rigs.

Resource Recovery and Quality Improvement

Improved collection and utilisation of data to generate understanding of geological conditions in mine planning:

Integration of geophysical and geotechnical data into mine planning models.
Predictive algorithms for interpreting geological structures in real time.
Machine learning to synthesise geological and production data.
Linking geological data with operational processes to maximise recovery and minimise waste.

Alternative processes for the disposal and management of tailings and rejects.
Investigation into precious metals extraction from mining, beneficiation processes, and tailings/reject streams.
Processes for deriving additional value from downhole geophysical surveys through:

Automated intelligent interpretation.
Identification and evaluation of discontinuities.
Improved rock mass characterisation.
Credible coal quality estimates using non-destructive processes (e.g., geophysical logs, CT scans).

Improved methods of fragmentation, coal recovery, and dilution rejection in-pit, supported by advanced sensing technology to detect coal seam quality variations.

Environmental Sustainability, Rehabilitation and Energy Efficiency

Implementation of systems or processes that lower or remove emissions generation activities.
Practical alternatives for post mining land use beyond traditional vegetation replacement.
Improved techniques for efficient raw water usage, innovative reuse of mine impacted water, and management of treatment by-products such as brine.
Cost effective strategies for mine rehabilitation, focusing on dumps, drainage, and long term stability of tailings facilities.
Develop technologies to improve energy efficiency across operations (fuel, electricity, gas, battery capture).
Reduce environmental pollutants from operational and maintenance activities.
Advance hydrogeological assessments to better evaluate groundwater impacts from mining activities.

Data, Modelling, and Predictive Technologies

Faster and more cost effective methods to improve understanding of mining conditions, including:

Reconciliation of structure, stratigraphy, and coal quality trends.
Insights into problematic overburden, groundwater, and spontaneous combustion risks.

Practical approaches for increasing confidence in resource and reserve estimation and classification.
Methods to automate spoil classification in real time to create as-dumped strength models for integration with autonomy and slope stability modelling.

ENHANCE CONTROL EFFECTIVENESS TO ENSURE PERSONNEL SAFETY

Human Health, Operator Interfaces, and Hazard Prevention

Develop evidence based insights into the impacts of coal mining activities on human health, including mental health, drug and alcohol use, return-to-work processes, and fatigue management.
Improve operator interfaces to support remote control operations, enhance interoperability of technical systems on mobile equipment, and reduce clutter in operator cabins.
Enhance methods for protecting and removing personnel from hazardous situations.
Improve maintenance operations through enhanced manual handling aids and the development of automated technologies.

Human Cognition and Behaviour

Develop cognitive recognition methods to address the subconscious normalisation of environmental changes that can lead to adverse outcomes.
Improve communication strategies to ensure better retention of safety information by employees and contractors.

Geotechnical and Slope Stability

Innovative methods for acquiring, capturing, and modelling data to enable integration into autonomous mining systems and geological modelling, including cost effective real time monitoring of pit slopes.
Improve methods for geotechnical mapping, deformation monitoring, and rock mass classification (including derived strength models).
Minimise geotechnical risk and uncertainty, particularly for deeper excavations, strata failure causes, interactions with previous underground workings, and higher spoil dumps.
Develop systems to monitor slope deformation in real time across entire sites, including highwall and lowwall slopes and critical infrastructure. Ensure these systems identify underlying mechanisms of instability and provide real time feedback into stability calculations.
Enhance understanding of hydrogeological impacts on slope stability, focusing on material degradation in pits used as water storages and broader aquifer interactions.

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Coal Preparation Priorities

The industry faces a range of existing and emerging challenges. These challenges translate to opportunities in coal preparation research, the broad areas of focus being:

Optimal tailings management and closure practices.

Energy and water efficiency.

Remote and autonomous development technologies on stockpiles.

Asset utilisation, maintainability and reliability.

Proposals offering practical and commercially viable outcomes that can be implemented relatively quickly are especially encouraged. Consideration will also be given to projects addressing the traditional areas of coal preparation improvement, such as efficiency optimisation, moisture and cost reduction. Coal preparation proposals are also sought in, but not limited to, the following complementary areas:

BENEFICIATION

Proposals are sought to deliver safer, lower cost, higher efficiency, or higher throughput from existing operations. This includes step change technologies that could materially change the plant and/or markets for future coal utilisation, or utilisation of waste streams.

Enhancing performance of existing technologies related to dry tailings disposal.
Enhancing mechanical and electrical systems to support energy reduction (e.g. pumping and conveying).
Improved OEM equipment designs that support maintenance practices reducing risk to maintenance personnel and prevent downtime.
Improved prediction of total cost of ownership, including better definition of the drivers behind different maintenance strategies for the development of new, and management of existing infrastructure (e.g. to ensure structural integrity).
Developing leading practice operations and maintenance handbooks focussing on energy and water efficiency and dry tailings disposal.
Encourage industry uptake and commercialisation of high definition analysis techniques as alternatives to heavy liquids.
Improved start-up/shutdown sequences to minimise downtime.
Development of data analytical tools including AI, machine learning, digital twins etc.
Automation of dozers on stockpiles.
Development of high capacity dry processing techniques that are less sensitive to feed size and investigate placing processing plant closer to pits, for example to enable product only being transported from pit.
Improving the mechanical dewatering and handling of fine product and reject streams.

SUSTAINABILITY

It is imperative to continue to improve health, safety and community outcomes and reduce the environmental impacts of the coal preparation plant process. This may include:

Developing tailings disposal processes to reduce cost, improve environmental outcomes and support effective closure outcomes.
Developing secondary dewatering techniques at the point of deposition.
Reducing noise and dust generation at each part of the coal chain from the point of extraction through to the port.
Maximising water recovery and recycling.
Developing improved tailings reprocessing methodologies.
Processing coal without the production of wet tailings.
Utilisation, recycling or repurposing of waste streams from the beneficiation process.

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Technical Market Support Priorities

Technical Market Support research priorities have been set recognising the importance of ensuring the long term viability of Australian metallurgical and thermal coals in a carbon-constrained world.

Through funding of research, the industry seeks to support development of a talented and diverse pool of researchers.

Technical Market Support proposals are also sought in, but not limited to, the following complementary areas:

Research projects leveraging the pilot scale HELE testing facility currently being developed, together with complementary techniques focused on:

Managing fouling.
Reducing fine particulate emissions particularly associated with co firing of biomass.
Coal quality requirements for co firing hydrogen and ammonia and for oxygen enrichment.

Development of metallurgical coke and PCI to support low-carbon blast furnace ironmaking through understanding:

The impact on coking coal quality requirements and steelmaking emissions through step change additions of coal blend additives such as biomass and waste materials.
Impact of alternative reductant co-injection on BF performance and metallurgical coke quality.

Integrated understanding of coal to coke conversion and coke performance linked back to:

Properties of coal which support technical marketing of Australian coking coals.
Interactions of coal types occurring during coal blending.
Impacts of coal-bed densification techniques.

Laboratory scale demonstration of potential new large scale products from coal and waste products.

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Environment and Community Priorities

Australia’s coal producers are calling for research to further enhance the industry’s ability to manage environmental and community issues. Research is needed to fill knowledge gaps and identify future issues to give stakeholders confidence in the industry’s ability to manage and reduce its impacts. Proposals are being sought relating to the coal mining industry’s license to operate, water management and effective mine site closure and lease/property relinquishment.

Environment and community proposals are sought in, but not limited to, the following areas:

WATER

Improved management of the potential impacts of mining on surface waters, groundwater and the local and/or regional ecosystems supported by these resources.
Improved techniques to achieve efficient use of raw water, innovative re-use of mine impacted water and effective management of treatment by-products including brine.

NOISE AND AIR

Improved methods for the prediction and management of the impact of dust, overpressure, vibration, fumes and noise on the environment and community health, and that are conducive to informing the development of local and regional air quality criteria.

REHABILITATION AND CLOSURE

Improved understanding and management of land use conflicts across the mining life cycle, including the early identification of strategies that benefit multiple stakeholders and encourage consensus among competing interests.
Sustainable coal washery by-product management with a focus on beneficial use.
Sustainability of mine rehabilitation including landform design and evolution, subsidence, performance assessment, biodiversity enhancement, re-establishment of agricultural land uses, landscape function and alternative post mining land uses.
Revegetation including species selection and improved methods for the introduction of recalcitrant and/or high interest native species in mine rehabilitation.
Optimising rehabilitation planning and management of problematic overburden such as dispersive, saline and sodic materials.
Innovative ways of assessing and determining biodiversity offset value.
Investigation of effective mine closure including:

Tenure and property relinquishment and the improvement of policy frameworks and options for relinquishment.
Sustainable land use and the integration of post mining land use with neighbouring/regional land use.
inal voids and the stability of highwall/lowwalls in perpetuity.
Potential long term impacts of post mining surface water and groundwater.
The management of residual risk.

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Mine Site Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Priorities

Before submitting a proposal in this area, it should be noted that:

Demonstration and large-scale test work is beyond the financial capability of ACARP.
The Committee will only consider proposals addressing greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the production of coal, not due to the utilisation of coal.
Commercial power generation technologies for high purity methane such as drainage gas are being increasingly adopted and are not seen as a high priority for further ACARP research.

Fugitive gases are the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions from coal mining operations and as such are a primary focus of the Mine Site Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Committee. The industry seeks innovative means for safe mitigation and accurate measurement of fugitive mine site gas emissions.

Mine Site Greenhouse Gas Mitigation proposals are sought in, but not limited to, the following areas:

MEASUREMENT OF EMISSIONS

The industry is interested in innovative fugitive emissions measurement methods with potential to supplement/complement established approaches, with a particular focus on open cut mining.

CAPTURE OF MINE GAS

ACARP is interested in proposals with potential to reduce gas drainage costs, maximise gas recovery and improve the quality and consistency of mine gas production. In particular, the Mine Site Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Committee welcomes projects examining the integration of gas drainage with open cut mining operations, including the implications for mine design, economics and environmental approvals.

UTILISATION OR DESTRUCTION OF MINE GAS

Dilute sources of seam gas such as mine ventilation air are a significant challenge. Proposals aimed at combusting or utilising dilute gas (0.5% or less methane) or increasing the methane concentration to usable levels, in a safe and cost-effective manner without the need for a supplementary fuel, are encouraged.

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Approval Structure

An understanding of the ACARP approval structure will assist in preparation and submission of Research Proposals.

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2025 Calendar

March 22

Call for Proposals (Announcement in Paper and distribution of Newsletter)

April 30

Closing Date for Short Proposals

July 18

Advice re outcomes of short proposals, and call for Long Proposals

August 20

Closing Date for Long Proposals

September 19

Postgraduate Scholarship applications due

December (mid)

Project Researchers and Postgraduate Scholarship applications advised of proposal outcomes

* This timetable is subject to change.

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Postgraduate Scholarships

Two full time postgraduate scholarships are available each year.

Who can apply?

An employee of the Australian coal industry or an industry directly associated with it, who satisfies university requirement for postgraduate degrees. The candidate will have been employed in the industry for a minimum of 3 years after graduating.

How Much?

The scholarship will provide $100,000 per annum tax free to the candidate. Additional support may be available to the hosting university.

Type of Postgraduate study

Full time PhD. Research, not course work.

Scholarship selection

The scholarship selection and management will be coordinated by the ACARP Research Committee. This committee is made up of senior technical managers from the Australian black coal industry.

Who defines the research project?

It is the responsibility of the candidate to find a suitable project, supervisor and hosting university.

What are the suitable projects?

Candidates should gain an understanding of the areas in which ACARP has undertaken research by looking at the Yearly Report and the Research Priorities Newsletter which defines the areas requiring further research.

Participating Universities

A number of Australian universities have registered their participation in the program.

When to apply

The cut off date for submissions in 2025 will be Friday, 19th September.
Final decisions will be made by the ACARP Board in December.

How to Apply

Download the Guidelines for ACARP Scholarship and the cover sheet
Contact ACARP at 07 3225 3600 or email Anne Mabardi if you need further information.

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