Dr John Farrow is the site manager for CSIRO’s Australian Minerals Research Centre in Western Australia. He is also a senior manager within the CSIRO Mineral Resources Flagship “Processing Australian Ore” Program. He and the CSIRO Improving Thickener Technology team were awarded the CSIRO Medal for Outstanding Research Achievements in 1999, the CSIRO Business Excellence Medal in 2004, and the CRC Association Technology Transfer Award in 2007.
Before joining CSIRO in 1984, Dr Farrow was a post-doctoral fellow, researching the mechanism of the iron oxidation stage used in the Becher Process (invented by a forerunner of ChemCentre) for the production of synthetic rutile. Since joining CSIRO, his main research interests have been in the areas of surface chemistry and solid-liquid separation especially flocculation, thickener technology and tailings disposal, with a strong industry focus.
In 2002, Dr Farrow was also the joint winner of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy's Mineral Industry Operating Award for services to the minerals industry, through revolutionising the development and implementation of new thickener technology for mineral processing.
He holds a Bachelor of Science (First Class Honours) with a double Chemistry major and a PhD in Physical Chemistry.
