Hellenic Mining Public Company Ltd (Host Organization)
Host Organization — HO
Hellenic Mining Public Company Ltd owns the bentonite quarry from which the material will be sampled. Bentonite from the quarry was mined and processed for cat litter, but its activities have now ended. The quarry has strategic reserves of raw bentonite material estimated to be adequate for more than 25 years of production.
In recent years, the company has collaborated with other quarries of the group, invested heavily in modern equipment, and improved its existing working cycles to maximize productivity and product quality. These acquisitions have enabled the development of a base range of products for immediate delivery and the provision of on-demand service for specialized requirements.
In a strategic and novel move, the company has attracted investors and expanded into hydrometallurgy in the field of extracting nickel from laterites, where raw material is shipped to Cyprus and the final nickel product is absorbed by the EU car industry. The company also owns an environmental waste management company (Hellenic Tzilalis), showing its commitment to a sustainable environmental policy.
The company considers this the appropriate time to expand into other minerals sectors such as drilling fluids. Teaming up with a premier research institution like UNIC is ambitious, as the requested funding (PhD in Industry) will produce novel materials for the drilling fluids industry. This concept fits the PhD in Industry funding scheme by RIF, and the company is committed to taking up the results of this work to enter the drilling fluids market.
University of Nicosia (UNIC)
Partner 1 — PA1
At UNIC, specific research is undertaken within its Institutes, Centres, and Units. Research is organized according to academic disciplines and focuses on engineering, sciences, economics, and more. Research centers, institutes, and units are dedicated solely to UNIC and have built a strong portfolio of expertise. They are organized around broad substantive research topics and sometimes house laboratories and other research infrastructure, drawing researchers and students from a wide range of disciplines and affiliated academic institutions.
For the purposes of this project, a young female PhD student has been selected to participate as the main researcher through UNIC, in collaboration with the PhD supervisor, to contribute to the creation and sharing of technical know-how. The added value of this cooperation is the flow of technical know-how and the construction of in-house knowledge, while also creating links between enterprise and academia.
UNIC is in the process of building up its specialization and has begun concentrating on fields such as Drilling and Completion fluid engineering, with particular emphasis on acquiring external funding from agencies such as RIF.
Loizos Papaloizou L.L.C.
Partner 2 — PA2, Small Enterprise / Research Partner
An engineering consulting firm established in 2020 that mainly provides engineering services involving engineering design, modeling, and opt imization. The company focuses on creating models of physical systems, using mathematical equations and computer simulations, to enhance design and reduce the costs and environmental impact of engineering projects.
For many of the projects undertaken, specialized software tools that are internally developed and custom-built are used to create these models and analyze data-driven options. Recent projects include practical problems dealing with engineering issues related to structures, energy, and the environment. The director believes that involvement in this project, teaming up with a large enterprise and leading researchers of the premier research institution of Oil, Gas, and Energy in Cyprus (UNIC), fits the company's core values and will expand the activities of the firm, generating future collaborations and active involvement in the competitive industrial sector.