Minerals, metallurgy, and materials (3-M) represent significant contributions to the economy of both Australia and China, which are currently facing considerable challenges in securing the future value of these 3-M industries and sustaining a competitive advantage in a carbon and resource constrained world. With the support from Australian and Chinese governments, the Australia–China Joint Research Centre for Minerals, Metallurgy and Materials (ACJRC 3-M Centre) was established in 2013 to provide a platform to foster interdisciplinary collaborations between Australia and China to meet the challenges in the 3-M industries.
Under the umbrella of the 3-M Centre, the second Australia–China Joint Symposium of Minerals and Metallurgy was held in Sydney, Australia on July 23–25, 2014. The scope of this Minerals and Metallurgy symposium covers fundamental and applied research into different processes or operations in the mineral and metallurgical industries. This Special Issue of Steel Research International, guest-edited by Aibing Yu (Monash University, Australia), compiles 12 contributions based on presentations in the metallurgy sessions of the symposium.
Unfortunately not all authors could submit their full papers for this special issue so that the contributions and authorship do not fully represent the current research and development activities in Australia and China. But, the special issue can still serve as a useful window to peer the research in iron and steel making in the two countries. It is pleasing to see that quite a few papers in the issue resulted from the collaboration between the researchers from Australia and China. We hope it can help stimulate research exchange worldwide.
