James Zhou

Dr. James Zhou is a Senior Research Associate (mapped to Research Fellow) at the School of Engineering, University of Newcastle. His career includes roles as a Research Scientist at CSIRO (1998–2001), Postdoc at Adelaide University (1997–1998), and Research Assistant at Monash University (1996–1997). He holds a PhD from Monash University (1996) and a Bachelor of Engineering in Chemical Engineering from East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai (1984).

His research focuses on mineral processing, particularly gravity separation technologies like the Reflux Classifier. Key interests include minerals beneficiation, suspension rheology, and extractive metallurgy, with applications in iron ore, gold, tin, zircon, and fly ash processing. His work emphasizes efficiency improvements in particle separation, desliming, and recovery of valuable minerals from low-grade ores and tailings.

Dr. Zhou's publications consistently explore innovations in gravity separation mechanisms, such as inclined channel spacing optimization and novel fluidisation techniques. His 2020–2025 research demonstrates advancements in processing itabirite iron ore, cassiterite tailings, and mineral sands, with trends toward full-scale implementation and environmental sustainability.

He has supervised three PhD projects on gravity pre-concentration of gold ore, cenosphere recovery from fly ash, and fine particle separations. In 2005, he contributed to a research grant titled Concentration of Low Grade Valuable Minerals Using a Novel Gravity Separator ($8,277). His lab collaborations include work with the Newcastle Institute for Energy and Resources.