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ItemCoupled dissolution with reprecipitation reactions constraining copper mobilization in heap leach systems( 2023-12)Copper is a key metal in the transition to a low-carbon economy. Currently, low grade copper sulphide (e.g., chalcopyrite, CuFeS2) ores make up more than 70% of the global reserves. However, the extraction of copper from low-grade copper sulphides faces several challenges including the use of large volumes of water and the precipitation of secondary minerals that passivate the surface of these low-grade copper minerals and/or clog lixiviant flow pathways in heap systems. While the dissolution of chalcopyrite, one of the main low-grade copper sulphide minerals, has been extensively studied, it is still unclear what mechanisms and secondary minerals lead to surface passivation and how passivation can be inhibited. Hence, this study examined the passivation of primary copper sulphide minerals undergoing coupled dissolution with reprecipitation reactions and the role of reaction-induced porosity. In Chapter 2, the saturation state of potential secondary minerals is modelled using a newly formulated surface-passivate model (SPM). The SPM showed that the precipitation of jarosite at the chalcopyrite surface lowered the reactive surface area and the dissolution rate of chalcopyrite. However, the SPM was limited in modelling the incongruent dissolution of chalcopyrite leading to precipitation of Fe-deficient copper phases because the Fe-deficient copper phase remained consistently undersaturated in trial models. This chapter provides insight for the design of experiments in the subsequent chapters of this thesis. Chapter 3 investigates the nature of secondary minerals and their effects on Cu-mineral surface area and Cu release rates using batch experiments conducted with acid-only and highly concentrated chloride (AlCl3, NaCl, CaCl2) lixiviant. This study showed that Fe leaches ahead of Cu during proton-promoted dissolution of a low-grade porphyry. Also, there was the mobilization of Cu ahead of Fe-S during combined ferric-iron and proton-promoted dissolution of copper sulphide in highly concentrated chloride lixiviant. Yet, the formation of this Fe-S phase was less pronounced in acidic chloride media with multivalent cations (e.g., Ca2+, Al3+) compared to monovalent cations (e.g., Na+). These multivalent cations can undergo ion exchange in a medium with ferric iron as an oxidant to retard the rate of iron hydroxy sulphate passivate formation while enhancing Cu recovery. Chapter 4 expands the findings of Chapter 3 by using flow-through experiments to investigate the steady-state dissolution rate of primary copper sulphides and secondary mineralization while the pore geometry and mineral reactive surface area change. The formation of Na-ferric hydroxysulphate precipitates (e.g., jarosite) resulted in a decline in the copper mobilization. Yet, the accumulation of jarosite and the ferric sulphate species in the pore space of packed columns of the ore material decreased when AlCl3-rich lixiviant was used at low flow rate. The decline in ferric sulphate species had a positive effect on free ferric activity, thereby ensuring a high Fe3+ availability for copper sulphide dissolution. Additionally, the leaching of coarse particles of copper sulphide minerals under a high flow rate in AlCl3-rich lixiviant led to a higher copper sulphide dissolution rate and higher gangue mineral dissolution. Chapter 5 examines the mechanism of the AlCl3 leaching of copper sulphides (newly introduced in Chapters 3 and 4) at consistently high Eh (550 – 650 mV SHE) and acidity (pH 1-3). Copper extraction was highest in AlCl3-rich media compared to all other cases within 72 hours, with greater than 80% recovery using AlCl3-rich brine, 50% recovery using NaCl-rich brine, 30% recovery using CaCl2-rich brine, and 10% recovery using acid-only. The mechanism of AlCl3 leaching of chalcopyrite can be direct or indirect. The direct mechanism involves the formation of Al-rich precipitates providing a higher dissolved Fe3+ concentration for chalcopyrite dissolution. Additionally, the introduction of Al3+ can lead to the formation of AlSO4+ species and alunite, thus lowering the sulphate activity and the respective likelihood of Na-jarosite formation. The indirect mechanism pertains to AlCl3 catalysing the transformation of primary copper sulphides such as chalcopyrite to intermediate secondary copper phases (e.g., covellite) per the Lewis acid properties of dissolved AlCl3. These intermediate copper phases, which are more soluble than chalcopyrite, can be further dissolved after oxidation by readily available ferric iron in solution. In summary, the results and conclusions presented in this thesis have provided new insights into mineral surface reactions involving copper sulphide minerals and how they limit copper recovery through surface passivation. It is demonstrated that acidic AlCl3 as a lixiviant is most effective in maximising the copper recovery rate.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableFinnish Musicians On The Australian Stage 1993-2022: An Ethnographic Study( 2023-12)Over the past three decades, increasing numbers of Finnish musicians have performed on Australian stages, a remarkable phenomenon arising from a convergence of seemingly unrelated circumstances in both countries. The trend included regular jazz performances, occasional presentations of traditional and contemporary folk music, audacious Finnish metal acts, and classical music collaborations with Australian musicians. A critical mass of performances was reached in the early 2000s, igniting an extraordinary surge in the numbers of Finnish musicians’ tours to Australia. This thesis is the first comprehensive study of a diverse cohort of Finnish musicians that has performed abroad. It examines the factors that motivated them to perform in Australia and investigates the impact of these experiences on the musicians’ identities. Presented from an Australian standpoint, the thesis draws on extensive multi-sited ethnographic research, including semi-structured conversations with two groups of participants. The first comprises a heterogeneous group of the performers, while the second group includes Finnish and Australian music educators, music industry representatives, migrants, academics, and musicians whose observations inform the context in which the phenomenon developed. As a result of this research, a complex interplay of historical, political and social factors in Finland was found to have provided a fertile environment for the expansion and eventual global dissemination of its music culture. This included music’s historical significance as Finnish cultural expression, the establishment of a welfare state in the 1960s, and a strong desire among Finns for global recognition. Reforms of the music education system resulted in the production of a surplus of highly skilled musicians seeking global audiences and Australia emerged as an attractive performance destination, offering adventure, personalised support, and a chance to enhance reputations. Serendipitously, the activities of significant Finnish music educators in Australia had set the scene. In addition, certain enthusiastic individuals emerged in Australia, keen to provide intermediary support and, ultimately, Australian audiences experienced the extraordinary music for which Finnish musicians are renowned. Whilst the physical and cultural environments of distant Australia left its mark on the musicians, the degree to which it affected their personal and musical identities depended on the duration of their stay in the country. Moreover, the music became a distinct creation when exposed to the unique responses of the Australian audience. This thesis contributes to our understanding of institutionalised music training, migration and cultural diasporas, political ideologies and cultural construction, and of identity and the performing musician. It concludes that the continued success of Finnish musicians’ performances in Australia is dependent upon the maintenance of Finland’s high levels of social capital, its strong commitment to music education, and an increased recognition of the vital role of intermediaries in both countries.
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ItemHistorically Informed Playfulness: An Interdisciplinary Exploration of Scottish-Australian Music Collections( 2023-12)Historical music collections are found in abundance in Australian libraries, museums and archives, yet they are rarely performed today nor is their importance generally recognised amongst musicians. This thesis explores three such collections using a combination of historically informed performance (HIP) methodology and autoethnography to construct a framework for future performance-based studies in this field. The diverse Scottish-Australian instrumental repertoire contained in the chosen collections illustrates a unique chapter in Australia’s colonial and post-colonial music history. Five sixty-minute recording projects illustrate the main tenet of the thesis: how multi-layered notions of individual and national identity, as well as decolonial and First Nations narratives, can be communicated through music, the creative process establishing distinctions between practice and playfulness, and between historical performance and music as a mouthpiece for history. The performative exploration of the collections is guided by a study of historical music texts as well as early recordings and the use of period instruments. Issues surrounding the recreation of personal and national playing styles and engagement with the aurally-transmitted characteristics of Scottish folk music are discussed in an Australian context. The written dissertation focuses specifically on a study of three nineteenth-century Scottish-Australian collections: the Laing Collection, Findlay Collection and Baillie Collection. Three album recordings present this research in aural form and their accompanying liner notes can be found in Appendix 3. The 'Wintergarden Fantasias' and 'Your Loving Father' albums contain material from the Baillie Collection, while 'The Bell Birds of Scotland' contains music from the Laing and Findlay collections. Catalogues of these three collections can be found in Appendix 1 and references to individual works throughout the dissertation use the ‘Unique ID’ of catalogue entries, as well as the ‘Unique Track ID’ in the table of recorded works (Table 1). The two remaining album recordings, 'One Hundred Days Away' and 'Curious Caledonians', represent initial stages of research and are not considered part of the main thesis output. Their accompanying liner notes can be found in Appendix 2.
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ItemWho is singing? An examination of models for proactive persona construction in popular music( 2023-10)This practice-led thesis is an investigation of approaches to constructing musical and visual persona within popular music. My creative work is used as a case study in which 4 personas are developed with reference to exemplars of practice in historical and current popular music. In exploring effective persona development this thesis draws on performance studies, persona studies, musicology, sociology and communication studies as a theoretical basis. The often-debated concept of authenticity, which interacts directly with perceptions of who a performer actually is when they perform, will be examined and its influence on the practitioner and popular music discourse in general will be addressed. The thesis investigates the following questions: 1) what effect does proactively exploring musical persona in the songwriting process have on creative outcomes? 2) what effect does proactively exploring visual persona have on how a singer-songwriter presents themselves in music videos and online content? 3) how do musical and visual persona interrelate? The answers to these questions will provide direction towards a model for a more deliberate approach to persona construction for singer-songwriters and other musical artists. In doing so this thesis positions persona in popular music within artistic practice rather than being discussed primarily in terms of marketing and branding.
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ItemA Qualitative Exploration of Young Peoples’ Perceptions and Experiences of Multidisciplinary Mental Health Assessment and Resource-Oriented Music Therapy Assessment in a Child and Youth Mental Health Service( 2024-02)Tertiary music therapy courses promote the importance of initial assessment to inform intervention, but little is known about how people experience music therapy assessment. This research explored adolescents’ lived experiences of resource-oriented music therapy assessment (ROMTA) as part of multidisciplinary assessment in a recovery-oriented mental health service in Australia. The research was undertaken in two stages. Stage One, a preparatory study, involved focus groups with three young adults who described experiences of mental health assessment and perceptions of the ROMTA, and the Healthy Unhealthy uses of Music Scale (HUMS). Thematic analysis revealed four themes: "not understanding," "coming out feeling worse," "getting through somehow," and "finally getting help." Findings from Stage One informed questions for Stage Two: in-depth, semi-structured interviews with six adolescents attending a mental health day program. Participants in Stage Two described experiences of mental health assessment, ROMTA and the HUMS. Stage Two data was analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) and participants provided feedback on findings during member checking interviews. General assessment themes were: "therapy fatigue," "360 supports," and "experiential therapy." Music therapy assessment themes were: "I was unsure about music therapy assessment," "the HUMS could be helpful, leading, or unimportant," "music therapy assessment didn’t feel like assessment," "music therapy assessment helped us get to know one another," and "making music and sharing music made me want to do more." Interpretation of findings resulted in three areas for discussion. First, therapy fatigue resulting from previous experiences can negatively impact consumers’ expectations of mental health assessment and music therapy assessment in specialist services. Second, the inclusion of music therapy assessment in multidisciplinary settings can promote positive relationships and experiences of support. And third, two aspects of music therapy assessment that built resilience were motivating musical experiences and exploring positive aspects of musical identity. The tenets of resource-oriented music therapy can help music therapists remain recovery-oriented during assessment. Adequate preparation, a welcoming environment, and a relational focus can help nurture strengths and resources and open communication can support collaboration. Looking beyond the therapy room by exploring contextual musical information exhibits a commitment to seeing each person within their unique context. And finally, if music is viewed as a health resource, advocacy for equitable access to music therapy and community-based opportunities for musical engagement is essential. During this research project, I was both therapist and researcher which could be seen as a limitation. However, benefits included ease of recruitment, and having an established rapport with participants which I believe supported them to provide rich experiential narratives. Participants were a small, homogeneous group as is typical of IPA studies, and consequently the findings are not considered generalisable. It is also acknowledged that the findings are specific to the Australian context. Additionally, the findings relate specifically to ROMTA. Future research should explore the lived experiences of diverse groups of people participating in different types of music therapy assessments. Including consumers who discontinue mental health treatment early could also be informative. Other useful topics to explore in more depth include resource-oriented music-making during assessment, reassuring physical environments, and specific applications for contextual musical information.
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ItemApplication of peripheral quantitative computed tomography to fracture healing assessment( 2023-09)Background Fracture healing is a complex, well-co-ordinated physiological process that ultimately results in the replacement of fracture callus by new bone, without the formation of a fibrous scar. Current practice of assessment of fracture healing involves a combination of clinical and radiological examination, although there is a lack of a standardised, quantitative method for the assessment of fracture stiffness and strength. Aims The primary aim of this thesis was to assess the application of peripheral quantitative computed tomography to, and its clinical utility in, fracture healing assessment. Methods Four studies were undertaken. The first assessed the effect of two common cast materials on pQCT derived measurements, to validate its use in the setting of a cast. An in-vitro component utilised a hydroxyapatite phantom to evaluate increasing cast thickness, and an in-vivo component assessed the effect of synthetic and plaster of Paris cast material on adult forearm measurements. The second study assessed the application of pQCT to evaluate the moulding ability of common cast materials each applied to 25 healthy adults. The third study was a prospective clinical trial to assess the feasibility of using pQCT in paediatric patients to monitor acute distal radius fracture healing. Healing fracture callus density and strength was assessed at different stages of union to provide descriptive results. The final study utilised pQCT to investigate the effect of vitamin D deficiency on fracture healing. A randomized controlled trial of vitamin D supplementation in the setting of vitamin D deficiency was performed, with pQCT as the primary assessment tool in 28 paediatric patients. Results The first study established the accuracy of pQCT in the setting of cast material, and validated its use in the setting of a cast. The second study demonstrated that plaster of Paris casts were able to achieve a closer mould than polyester casts, and a closely moulded fit was able to be more consistently achieved when using plaster of Paris to immobilise simulated distal radius fractures. The third study demonstrated that pQCT is a feasible imaging modality for monitoring the progress of distal radius fracture healing. The final study found no effect on distal radius fracture healing with vitamin D supplementation. Conclusions pQCT is a safe, feasible and practical imaging modality in the assessment of forearm fracture healing in a paediatric population.
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ItemManuel de Falla and The Guitar: A Discussion of Three New Transcriptions( 2023-09)This performance-based research project focuses on Spanish composer Manuel de Falla (1876-1946) and includes: a 70-minute performance recording; an 12,000-word written dissertation; and guitar transcriptions of three numbers from Falla’s orchestral ballets. The project explores how the Spanish guitar music influenced Falla’s compositions, his relationships with guitarists, and his music that has been transcribed for guitar. The performances include Falla’s compositions, works that were inspired by Falla, and two sonatas by Falla’s contemporaries – the Spanish composer Federico Moreno Torroba (1891-1982) and Mexican composer Manuel Maria Ponce (1882-1948), who were both the pioneers of guitar music in the twentieth century. Falla’s music has been very popular among guitarists, and he also worked closely with renowned guitarists such as Miguel Llobet (1878-1938) and Angel Barrios (1882-1964). Falla’s Homenaje a Debussy (1920) is regarded one of the most important guitar compositions of the twentieth century, while most of his orchestral works were strongly influenced by guitar music. Many guitarists such as Llobet, Emilio Pujol (1886-1980), Julian Bream (1933-2020), John Williams (1941- ) and Manuel Barrueco (1952- ) have arranged and performed transcriptions of Falla’s works for orchestra. An important part of this project is to create three new transcriptions selected from numbers from two of Falla’s most well-known ballets - El amor brujo (1915) and El sombrero de tres picos (1919). In the dissertation, the new transcriptions are discussed in relation to Falla’s orchestral scores, and compared to well-known published transcriptions. A performance guide for the transcriptions is also provided.
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ItemTracing The Drop: composing with an ethics of affirmation( 2023-10)This portfolio showcases works that reflect my compositional processes, which are informed by my practice as a contrabass guitarist and improviser, my regional and working-class origins, as well as my technical, conceptual, and philosophical grounding(s).
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ItemOver balconies and electronic bridges: Intercultural music engagement during & post pandemic( 2023-11)Globalisation, mass migration, and the challenges of accommodating cultural and political diversity have resulted in a renewed interest in social cohesion and community resilience. Local and global interdependencies require cooperation across different constituencies to address issues with wide reaching implications such as conflict and climate change – often leading to further mass migration of people. The research considered here was punctuated by a global concern – the COVID-19 pandemic. This event underlined these interdependencies and the importance of addressing tensions between cohesion and diversity to optimise the resilience of communities in the face of adversity. Specifically, this thesis explores the role of intercultural music engagement in fostering social cohesion and community resilience. As a social custom found across cultures, while demonstrating cultural variation, music has potential to strengthen bonds within and between groups. However, music’s capacity to strengthen bonds within groups points equally to its capacity to create division. The COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns underscored the role of digital platforms in maintaining music practice and connection across divides. Observing the unfolding event oriented the focus of the research toward the processes of digitally mediated and face-to-face music engagement in building intercultural understanding, social connection, and community resilience; the features that distinguished digitally mediated from face-to-face intercultural music engagement; and the characteristics of people and artifacts that play a bridging role in intercultural music engagement. Four studies were undertaken and are described in this thesis. Two considered intercultural music engagement during COVID-19 lockdown, including a participatory action research project exploring asynchronous multi-tracking performance among six community-based arts practitioners, and an online ethnography of eight case studies of audience engagement with YouTube music broadcasts. The third study was a social network analysis that considered cultural identity and culturally diverse music practice among 120 Australian musicians. The fourth study was an integrative literature review synthesising interdisciplinary knowledge from 31 studies of intercultural music engagement programs for adults. Also described in the thesis is a design for a brief hybrid (including both digitally mediated and face-to-face) music intervention for international university students. The approach to the intervention is informed by the four studies. The research underscores the dynamic nature of culture, community and social identity that necessitate inclusive and ecological conceptualisations of social cohesion and community resilience. Investigations reveal intercultural music engagement is highly context specific, requiring local knowledge, facilitation skills and reflective practice. As well as the role of music practice as a bridge between diverse identities and groups, the studies highlight the connective potential of digital platforms, polycultural perspectives and shared purpose.
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ItemRepetitions That Differ: A Recording Analysis of Repeated Musical Material in Schubert’s G-major Piano Sonata, D. 894 and Schumann’s Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6( 2023-12)Many of Schubert’s and Schumann’s piano works are characterised by a profusion of repeated musical materials, which poses challenges for pianists as to how to repeat them creatively and whether or not to repeat them. While a substantial amount of literature has recognised repetition as the hallmark of Schubert’s music, there have only been scattered scholarly allusions to the repetitive attribute of Schumann’s music. Despite the relative inattention to the latter, two piano works prove to be remarkable examples of both composers’ deep engagement with repetition: Schubert’s G-major piano sonata, D. 894 and Schumann’s Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6. This thesis presents a practice-led recording analysis that examines divergent manners in which some of the repeated musical materials in the first movement of Schubert’s G-major piano sonata and three pieces from Schumann’s Davidsbündlertänze, Op. 6, Book 1, No. 2 and No. 7 and Book 2, No. 2, are performed by a selection of pianists, including Alfred Cortot, Ernst von Dohnányi, and Mitsuko Uchida, among others. More precisely, this analysis examines, within the aforementioned scope of written music, 1) whether the written repeat sign is actualised by the pianists and 2) the sounding differences between the pianists’ performances of the same musical material. Unlike most of the existing literature which only concerns repetitions in their written form, this recording analysis takes as its analytical object the sounding repetition that the act of playing produces. The analysis entails a practice-led research process, for which my musical intuition, my haptic knowledge of this repertoire and insights formed through my extensive musical practice, serve as the precondition. It is my hope that this recording analysis will become a source of inspiration for pianists who are facing the decision-making on whether or not to repeat, and who are searching for creative ways of repeating the repeated material.
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