Dr David Jones, Branch Head, Environmental Research Institute of the Supervising Scientist

Dr David Jones joined Supervising Scientist Division as Director of the Environmental Research Institute of the Supervising Scientist (eriss) in June 2005.

David has Honours and PhD degrees in bio-inorganic chemistry. The first 16 years of his professional career (1981-97) were spent as a research scientist in the CSIRO reaching the level of senior principal research scientist.
For seven years he was principal geochemist and manager of the Earth and Water Group in EWL Sciences, where most of his research work was focussed on Jabiluka (water quality and geochemical baseline studies) and operational and strategic Ranger projects. During that time he also worked on mining-related environmental issues in Queensland, Western Australia and internationally.

David's 27 years of experience include water quality research issues in the mining, energy, agricultural and urban sectors, with projects spanning the range from assessment of source strength, through treatment, to ultimate fate in the receiving environment. Much of his research and consulting activity over the past decade has focused on the fate of metals and nutrients in wetland systems. In particular he led the development of large-scale wetland systems for the treatment of minewater, and also led and participated in numerous investigations of the impacts of urban development and mining activity on water quality and health of aquatic ecosystems. A particular strength has been a systems approach that integrates the physical, chemical and biological components of environmental problems.

David's specific areas of expertise include:

Water and sediment quality components of environmental impact assessments;
Assessing leaching potential of mine wastes - extensive experience in coal, base metal, gold and uranium mining environments;
Hydrochemical investigations of waste rock and mine tailings to develop decommissioning and rehabilitation strategies;
Wetland treatment of urban and mine waters;
Ground and surface water quality issues associated with backfilling and flooding of mine pits;
Investigating biological uptake pathways for metals released into the aquatic environment from mining and mineral processing activities;
Assessing impacts of discharges from urban and agricultural land use activities on river water quality;
Trouble-shooting surface and groundwater quality issues at minesites; and
Managing multidisciplinary teams to develop cost effective decommissioning and rehabilitation strategies for minesites.