Bellson Awatey has been appointed as JKMRC’s Newcrest Research Fellow, with responsibility for coordinating the collaborative projects between the two organisations.

Bellson, who brings extensive experience to the role, said he is looking forward to the challenge.

“I have worked in roles bridging industry and academia, and getting to understand both perspectives has been a learning curve,” he said. “I see myself as a good communicator, which I think will be important for this role.”

After graduating in Mineral Engineering, Mr Bellson’s first job was as a plant metallurgist working on rotation with Gold Fields in his native Ghana. He came to Australia to study for his PhD at the Ian Wark Research Institute at the University of South Australia (UniSA), before taking up a lecturing position at the University of Mines and Technology, Ghana.

Since returning to Australia in 2017, Mr Bellson has worked with UniSA’s Future Industries Institute and most recently with SIMEC Mining in Whyalla, where he was a process engineer in the Technology and Innovation Department.