Prime Minister Ms Julia Gillard discussed geology with CET postgraduate students as she visited UWA in CHOGM week to launch a new centre to help developing nations form their own mining industries.
The $31 million International Mining for Development Centre is funded by the Federal Government through AusAID to help African and Asian countries use their resources sustainably.
The CET is part of a network of centres and organisations across the University of Western Australia which will be delivering the education and training activities at the centre.
Four CET PhD students and one science Honours student talked to Ms Gillard in the Edward de Courcy Clarke Science Museum about their research and showed her rock samples, microscope slides and computer simulations.
Ms Gillard was very interested in PhD student Yongjun Lu’s work on discovering porphyry copper deposits in Asia and said it was clear how passionate he was about his research. She said vice-chancellor Alan Robson would be pleased at how happy all the students were to work at the CET.
CET students Zoja Vukmanovic, Matthew Hill, Margaux Le Vaillant and Honours student John Owen also spoke to the Prime Minister and said it was great to meet her.