New Consortium Creation and Cultivation of Young Scientist on Earth Resources in Asia and Africa Region
Core-to-Core Program (2014 to 2017)
Research exchange objectives
For resource- and energy-poor Japan to continue to be an advanced industrial nation, it will be necessary to secure resources, which can be considered the starting point of industry, on an ongoing basis. Alternately, it will be necessary to consider the potential of resource recycling and development of marine resources lying in Japanese waters. Japan is one of the world’s leaders when it comes to technology for discovering and developing these earth resources as well as recycling technology and technology for minimizing the environmental impact of resource development. By contrast, although Asia and Africa are home to promising earth resources, those areas lack the next-generation development technologies to discover them without having an excessive environmental impact. Earth resources in Asia and Africa traditionally have been exploited by European and North American resource companies, preventing developing nations from utilizing them for purposes of national development. In light of this situation, partnerships between developing nations in Asia and Africa (which have rich deposits of earth resources but lack technology and engineers) and Japan (which lacks resources but has environmentally friendly, resource-related technologies) would serve to strengthen the stable and mutually beneficial relationships between both parties into the future and even to contribute to the peaceful development of Asia and Africa.
The first objective of this application is to work to improve elucidation of the origins of resource deposits and the technologies for finding them by facilitating the development of resource development technologies and resource quantity evaluation technologies by Japan in partnership with Asian and African researchers. These efforts will serve to accelerate earth resource research, spur the sharing of information, and build a foundation for future research.
The second objective is to expose young Asian and African researchers to global research exchanges and to provide opportunities for them to encounter Japan’s state-of-the-art technologies. Furthermore, this project will strive to foster the development of young Japanese researchers and students in the resource field as global human resources that will be a major asset for Japan in the future by giving them an opportunity to participate in exchanges with Asian and African researchers.
For the three-year period from 2011 to 2014, we have orchestrated research exchanges and training programs for young researchers in the mineral resource field with a focus on Asia and Africa, particularly ASEAN and the nations of North Africa. Over the next three years, we will build on that track record by adding the Philippines as a new ASEAN base as well as Mongolia and south-central Africa as we strive to form practical consortiums in Asia and Africa with a comprehensive focus on earth resources, including both mineral and energy resources.
Asia and Africa Science Platform Program (2011 to 2014) *Previously funding recipient
Research exchange objectives
Japan has sophisticated resource exploration technologies, but the domestic locations where these can be utilized to their full potential are extremely limited. The reality is that the country seeks large quantities of resources abroad. By contrast, Asia and Africa have promising resources but lack adequate technology to explore and develop them with a high degree of precision. This research program is dedicated to the discovering a variety of resources in Asia and Africa, specifically fuel resources such as oil and natural gas, metal resources such as gold and rare metals, and geothermal resources, which may serve as a type of clean energy, through joint research with facilities in various countries and to facilitating development of resources that could be supplied to Japan in the future as part of a Japan-led effort. Furthermore, it seeks through joint research not only to further engineering-oriented resource development and evaluation of the magnitude of resource reserves, but also to identify the origins of resource deposits and to advance resource exploration technologies.
In addition, this research program strives to foster the mutual development of young researchers. Despite a high level of recognition among young researchers in Asia and Africa of Japan as a country with advanced resource-related technologies, opportunities to visit Japan are currently extremely limited. This program seeks to foster the mutual advancement of technologies and the sharing of knowledge by inviting young researchers from facilities in various countries to briefings introducing the latest analyses and scientific conferences. In addition to helping young researchers in Japan better understand the latest resource-related developments in Asia and Africa and creating motivations for new research, it will play an important role in the development of networks connecting members of the generation that will be responsible for advancing the field in the future.
Project organization
Japanese project organization
- Institution: Kyushu University
- Coordinator: Koichiro Watanabe
Professor, Earth Resources Engineering
Graduate School of Engineering - Partner institutions: Akita University, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Hokkaido University
Participating and partner institutions in other countries
- University of Science and Technology, Houari Boumediene (Algeria)
- Nuclear Research Center (Egypt)
- Padjadjaran University (Indonesia)
- Gadjah Mada University (Indonesia)
- Bandung Institute of Technology (Indonesia)
- Chulalongkorn University (Thailand)
- University of Science, Malaysia (Malaysia)
- University of the Philippines (Philippines)
- Mongolian University of Science and Technology (Mongolia)
- University of Yangon (Myanmar)
Scientific conferences
2016 in Akita
JSPS Asia Africa Platform Program
Asia Africa Mineral Resourced Conference 2016
Date: September 13-16, 2016
Venue: Akita University, Japan
Important Dates:
- June 10, 2016: Deadline of registration form
- July 5, 2016: Deadline of extended abstract/paper
- July 20, 2016: Notification of acceptance or comments from reviewer
- August 15, 2016: Submission of final version of extended abstract/paper
1st circular:
2015 in Manila
JSPS Asia Africa Platform Program
Asia Africa Mineral Resources Conference 2015
July 25-29, 2015 Manila, Philippines
Welcome to the 5th Asia Africa Mineral Resources Conference 2015!
Date：July 25-29, 2015
Venue：University of the Philippines, Diliman, Manila, Philippines
Areas of interest:
- Economic Geology and Geological Engineering
- Development and Production of Mineral Resources
- Numerical Simulation of Resources and Environment
- Mineral Processing, Waste Management and Recycling
- Sustainability of Resources and Environment
- Development and Production of Mineral Resources
Important Dates:
- Deadline for the Submission of registration forms and extended abstracts/papaer： 31 May, 2015
- Notice of Acceptance/comments from reviewers：June 16, 2015
- Submission of final version of extended abstracts/paper： June 30, 2015
2014 in Algiers
JSPS Asia Africa Platform Program
Asia Africa Mineral Resources Conference 2014
October 13-16, 2014 Algiers, Algeria
Welcome to the 4th Asia Africa Mineral Resources Conference 2014!
Date：October 13-16, 2014 (with excursion on Oct. 14-16)
Venue：University of Sciences and Technology Houari Boumediene, Algiers, Algeria
Areas of interest:
- Economic Geology and Geological Engineering
- Development and Production of Mineral Resources
- Numerical Simulation of Resources and Environment
- Mineral Processing, Waste Management and Recycling
- Sustainability of Resources and Environment
- Development and Production of Mineral Resources
Important Dates:
- Deadline of Abstract Submission (including title and authors)： the end of May, 2014
- Notification of Acceptance： June 15, 2014
- Deadline of Full Pape (4-6 pages)r Submission： August 15, 2014
- Gathering at Algiers for Conferences： October 13, 2014
2013 in Ulaanbaatar
JSPS Asia Africa Platform Program
Asia Africa Mineral Resources Conference 2013
September 21-25, 2013 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Welcome to the 3rd Asia Africa Mineral Resources Conference 2013!
Date：September 21-25, 2013 (with excursion on Sep. 23-25)
Venue：Mongolian University of Science and Technology, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Areas of interest:
- Economic Geology and Geological Engineering
- Development and Production of Mineral Resources
- Numerical Simulation of Resources and Environment
- Mineral Processing, Waste Management and Recycling
- Sustainability of Resources and Environment
- Development and Production of Mineral Resources
Important Dates:
- Deadline of Abstract Submission (including title and authors)： June 17, 2013
- Notification of Acceptance： June 21, 2013
- Deadline of Full Paper Submission： July 29, 2013
- Review duration： by the end of Aug.
2012 in Bandung
JSPS Asia Africa Platform Program
Asia Africa Mineral Resources Conference 2012
September 14-17, 2012 Bandung, Indonesia
Welcome to the 2nd Asia Africa Mineral Resources Conference 2012!
Date：September 14-17, 2012 (with excursion on Sep. 14-16)
Venue：AAC building, Bandung, Indonesia
Areas of interest:
- Economic Geology and Geological Engineering
- Development and Production of Mineral Resources
- Numerical Simulation of Resources and Environment
- Mineral Processing, Waste Management and Recycling
- Sustainability of Resources and Environment
- Development and Production of Mineral Resources
Important Dates:
- Deadline of Abstract Submission (including title and authors)： May 15, 2012
- Notification of Acceptance： May 22, 2012
- Deadline of Full Paper Submission： June 30, 2012
- Gathering at Jakarta for Field Excursion： Sep. 13, 2012
2011 in Fukuoka
JSPS Asia Africa Platform Program
Asia Africa Mineral Resources Conference 2011
December 8-11, 2011 in Fukuoka, Japan
The Graduate School of Engineering, Kyushu University is pleased to announce the Asia Africa Mineral Resources Conference to be held on December 8-11 (with excursion on Dec. 9-11), 2011 at Kyushu University Inamori Conference Hall, Fukuoka, Japan. This meeting will present and discuss the latest findings that challege the development of rare metal resources.
- Economic Geology and Geological Engineering
- Development and Production of Mineral Resources
- Numerical Simulation of Resources and Environment
- Mineral Processing, Waste Management and Recycling
- Sustainability of Resources and Environment
- Development and Production of Mineral Resources
