A Mathematical Approach to Flexible Management of Open Pit Mines with Uncertain Geology and Unpredictable Demand. This project will create new mathematical algorithms to flexibly manage open pit mining projects. The development of strategic plans for mining operations is a highly complex task, based on incomplete geological information and uncertain future commodity demand. The smart mathematics we create will allow Australia to capitalise on upturns in international demand, while limiting unavo ....A Mathematical Approach to Flexible Management of Open Pit Mines with Uncertain Geology and Unpredictable Demand. This project will create new mathematical algorithms to flexibly manage open pit mining projects. The development of strategic plans for mining operations is a highly complex task, based on incomplete geological information and uncertain future commodity demand. The smart mathematics we create will allow Australia to capitalise on upturns in international demand, while limiting unavoidable negative outcomes, by flexibly adjusting the mining operation to prevailing geological and economic conditions. Australia's mineral exports are worth over $50b annually to the Australian economy. Our techniques will better manage Australia's mining projects and capture new, emerging markets, significantly impacting on Australia's balance of trade.Read moreRead less
Automated On-Line Analysis and Contaminant Detection in Mineral Ore Processing. On-belt analysis is a key to efficient functioning of several
industries involved in the mining and use of minerals. It provides
chemical analysis of the minerals as they run through the instrument
on a conveyer belt. It permits quality control and detection of
impurities. The Scantech on-line analyser is at the forefront of this
technology. Our aim is to produce novel techniques to significantly
improve and m ....Automated On-Line Analysis and Contaminant Detection in Mineral Ore Processing. On-belt analysis is a key to efficient functioning of several
industries involved in the mining and use of minerals. It provides
chemical analysis of the minerals as they run through the instrument
on a conveyer belt. It permits quality control and detection of
impurities. The Scantech on-line analyser is at the forefront of this
technology. Our aim is to produce novel techniques to significantly
improve and make more efficient the processing of data from the
analyser. A particular focus will be quicker and improved calibration
of the instrument. These techniques will increase the accuracy and
speed while reducing the costs of such analysers, thus retaining and
enhancing their competitiveness in the global market.
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Understanding cycles in mineral commodity price, a market model with uncertainty. Mining accounts for more than 8% of Australia's GDP, and almost 50% of Australia's total merchandise exports. Understanding phenomenological mechanisms for price fluctuations and using our dynamic price model can help determine better timing of investments in mining infrastructure. This knowledge will help Australia benefit from the upside of commodity 'cycles', super or not. The market model that will be develope ....Understanding cycles in mineral commodity price, a market model with uncertainty. Mining accounts for more than 8% of Australia's GDP, and almost 50% of Australia's total merchandise exports. Understanding phenomenological mechanisms for price fluctuations and using our dynamic price model can help determine better timing of investments in mining infrastructure. This knowledge will help Australia benefit from the upside of commodity 'cycles', super or not. The market model that will be developed in this project can be used to assist in better planning for commodity cycle upside, improving the overall efficiency of capital utilisation in the long term.Read moreRead less
Developing a robust model for pricing inter-related volatility-based financial derivative contracts. Volatility-based financial contracts were developed in the late 1990s to provide an easy way for investors to gain exposure to the future level of volatility and thus provide a means by which they could speculate on its future levels and also hedge unpredictable volatility risk. This would potentially save them from losing vast quantities of money. However these products can only be efficient pr ....Developing a robust model for pricing inter-related volatility-based financial derivative contracts. Volatility-based financial contracts were developed in the late 1990s to provide an easy way for investors to gain exposure to the future level of volatility and thus provide a means by which they could speculate on its future levels and also hedge unpredictable volatility risk. This would potentially save them from losing vast quantities of money. However these products can only be efficient products for trading and risk management if they are priced correctly. This project will benefit investors by providing empirically viable models that will be able to be easily implemented to provide accurate and fast pricing solutions.Read moreRead less
Option pricing via path integrals: a new perspective. The risk management of derivative securities is a very exciting challenge for financial market researchers. The knowledge base resulting from this proposal will benefit both large financial institutions and Australia's financial system by creating a more competitive and efficient economic environment, which will inevitably lead to more gross domestic product (GDP) gains.Furthermore a large amount of software and numerical analysis work to be ....Option pricing via path integrals: a new perspective. The risk management of derivative securities is a very exciting challenge for financial market researchers. The knowledge base resulting from this proposal will benefit both large financial institutions and Australia's financial system by creating a more competitive and efficient economic environment, which will inevitably lead to more gross domestic product (GDP) gains.Furthermore a large amount of software and numerical analysis work to be developed during the project can be turned into IP for Australia. This will contribute to catalysing development of internationally competitive financial risk management software industry.Read moreRead less
Models for Australian Electricity Derivatives. Electricity derivatives, such as electricity futures and options are used to manage the risk associated with volatility in prices of electricity. This project aims to develop models for pricing electricity derivatives specifically suited for Australia. Because of the non-storable nature of electricity the standard option pricing principle of "no-arbitrage" does not apply to electricity options, such as caps and floors, but applies to options on elec ....Models for Australian Electricity Derivatives. Electricity derivatives, such as electricity futures and options are used to manage the risk associated with volatility in prices of electricity. This project aims to develop models for pricing electricity derivatives specifically suited for Australia. Because of the non-storable nature of electricity the standard option pricing principle of "no-arbitrage" does not apply to electricity options, such as caps and floors, but applies to options on electricity futures. Therefore a specific model is needed that takes into account the pricing principle of "no-arbitrage" and combines it with other factors that drive electricity prices. The novel element in this proposal is incorporation of the weather forecasts into the models for electricity options. As a result of this study appropriate models for electricity derivatives for various geographical regions in Australia will be developed.Read moreRead less
Innovative Methods for Very High Dimensional Problems. Real world problems tend to involve an enormous number of variables. This "curse of dimensionality" poses great difficulty in application areas such as statistics, finance, economics, and physics. These high dimensional problems are not confined to Australia, and there is great demand worldwide for effective and efficient methods to tackle these problems. The novel methods developed here will lead to improvements in prevailing computational ....Innovative Methods for Very High Dimensional Problems. Real world problems tend to involve an enormous number of variables. This "curse of dimensionality" poses great difficulty in application areas such as statistics, finance, economics, and physics. These high dimensional problems are not confined to Australia, and there is great demand worldwide for effective and efficient methods to tackle these problems. The novel methods developed here will lead to improvements in prevailing computational technologies, which will help to enhance Australia's reputation as a leading scientific innovator. The international collaborations will increase the research output of the country, build up the knowledge base in the discipline, draw international interest, and initiate linkages.Read moreRead less
Stochastic modelling of spatiotemporal nonlinear diffusion processes with multifractal characteristics. This research is relevant to solute transport and plume evolution in heterogeneous media. Detailed modelling of these processes is computer-intensive, while the diffusion models of this project offer a more economical alternative. Our study will also benefit the research on the salinity problem. Excessive demand for irrigation water to support agricultural production has stretched freshwater a ....Stochastic modelling of spatiotemporal nonlinear diffusion processes with multifractal characteristics. This research is relevant to solute transport and plume evolution in heterogeneous media. Detailed modelling of these processes is computer-intensive, while the diffusion models of this project offer a more economical alternative. Our study will also benefit the research on the salinity problem. Excessive demand for irrigation water to support agricultural production has stretched freshwater aquifers beyond their long-term yield. Large areas of land have been lost to saltwater intrusion. This proposal will provide suitable tools to predict the level and movement of saltwater in the aquifers. Application to the development of management strategies would bring direct benefit to coastal areas where salinity is a sustainability issue.Read moreRead less
Stochastic modelling and analysis of spatio-temporal processes with fractal characteristics. Interest has grown in recent years on the derivation of fractal models to represent certain physical phenomena such as diffusion and transport in porous media, oceanic and atmospheric turbulence, climatology, etc. This project focuses on the phenomenon of diffusion on domains with multifractal geometry. Recent advances in harmonic analysis on fractals and our own development of fractional generalized ran ....Stochastic modelling and analysis of spatio-temporal processes with fractal characteristics. Interest has grown in recent years on the derivation of fractal models to represent certain physical phenomena such as diffusion and transport in porous media, oceanic and atmospheric turbulence, climatology, etc. This project focuses on the phenomenon of diffusion on domains with multifractal geometry. Recent advances in harmonic analysis on fractals and our own development of fractional generalized random fields allow us to formulate a comprehensive program to tackle some key problems including modeling, processing and statistical estimation of fractional diffusion. Advances made in this program will in turn benefit the developments in related scientific fields.Read moreRead less
Stochastic Modelling of Genetic Regulatory Networks: Subtitle - Genetic Regulation is a Noisy Business. The completion of the human genome marked the culmination of one hundred years of reductionist science in cell biology. Although further bioinformatics analysis will continue, the focus is shifting towards synthesis and understanding how the regulatory genetic components dynamically interact to form functional phenotypes. The key to this is the understanding of the roles of stochasticity in ....Stochastic Modelling of Genetic Regulatory Networks: Subtitle - Genetic Regulation is a Noisy Business. The completion of the human genome marked the culmination of one hundred years of reductionist science in cell biology. Although further bioinformatics analysis will continue, the focus is shifting towards synthesis and understanding how the regulatory genetic components dynamically interact to form functional phenotypes. The key to this is the understanding of the roles of stochasticity in cellular processes. This project will explore these roles and will develop an integrated complex systems modelling, simulation and visualisation framework. This will be used on an exemplar application for lineage commitment in haematopoiesis and for exploring and validating genetic regulatory models in general.Read moreRead less