Overview
Background
Rick Valenta specialises in multidisciplinary research meeting the challenges of future mineral supply.
Professor Rick Valenta is the Director of the Sustainable Minerals Institute at the University of Queensland. He leads research aimed at improving the discovery, mining and processing of hydrothermal ore deposits, as well as understanding and mapping the risks associated with future mineral supply. His areas of focus include structural geology, geophysics and ore deposit geology, with an overall theme of better understanding the underlying processes which lead to the localisation and characteristics of these deposits. Rick also has a strong focus on development of 4D mineral systems models from deposit to region scales, using these models to improve targeting techniques, better formulate geological and resource models, and inform prediction of mineral processing performance.
Trained as a geologist, Rick worked for a short time in Petroleum exploration in Western Canada before coming to Australia to complete a PhD on the George Fisher Zn-Pb-Ag deposit in the Mount Isa region. He then spent 5 years as a lecturer at Monash University in an industry-supported role aimed at developing the science and practice of structural interpretation of geophysical data. During this period, Rick was involved in the development of very successful industry training programs and a significant number of publication and software outputs.
Rick then spent 23 years in industry roles including Chief Geologist, Chief Operating Officer, and multiple CEO roles. Companies and exploration teams under his direction have been involved in a significant number of mineral discoveries of copper, uranium and gold, as well as several transformative company transactions. In his career, Rick has held senior executive roles in teams which have raised over $150m in venture capital investment, leading to the creation of over $2b in shareholder value.
Rick is a Fellow of the AusIMM and the Society of Economic Geologists, a practising member of the Association of Professional Geologists of Ontario (APGO), and a member of the Geological Society of Australia.
Availability
- Professor Rick Valenta is:
- Available for supervision
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, Monash University
Research impacts
- Leading long term collaboration with the Queensland government aimed at realising improvements to the Queensland resource industry including
- Developing a program for mineral deposit atlases in Queensland aiding exploration
- Prospectivity analyses for critical minerals already resulting in new critical mineral discoveries in the state
- rethinking the role of precompetitive data and knowledge support foir the Queensland resource industry
- Understanding technical and non-technical challenges to the development of known critical and strategic mineral orebodies (Complex Orebodies), including
- Global mult-parameter assessment of technical and non-technical risks preventing project development
- Assessment of the potential impacts of new technologies in improved sustainability outcomes for critical and strategic mineral orebodies
- Launch of a spinout company for commercial implementation of research insights gained from the Complex Orebodies program
- Leading the UQ Node of the Resource Technology and Critical Minerals Trailblazer program
- coordination the attraction of over $40m of Industry funding for commercialisation-focused research
- making significant inroads into University Transformation leading to an increased and more commercialisation focused academic cohort
- leading the development of a robust pipeline of resource technology and critical minerals commercialisation prosects including several launched and funded companies
Works
Search Professor Rick Valenta’s works on UQ eSpace
2016
Journal Article
Epitope specificity determines cross-protection of a SIT-induced IgG<sub>4</sub> antibody
Gadermaier, E., James, L. K., Shamji, M. H., Blatt, K., Fauland, K., Zieglmayer, P., Garmatiuk, T., Focke-Tejkl, M., Villalba, M., Beavil, R., Keller, W., Valent, P., Durham, S. R., Gould, H. J., Flicker, S. and Valenta, R. (2016). Epitope specificity determines cross-protection of a SIT-induced IgG4 antibody. Allergy, 71 (1), 36-46. doi: 10.1111/all.12710
2015
Journal Article
Dendritic cell-derived exosomes carry the major cat allergen Fel d 1 and induce an allergic immune response
Vallhov, H., Gutzeit, C., Hultenby, K., Valenta, R., Gronlund, H. and Scheynius, A. (2015). Dendritic cell-derived exosomes carry the major cat allergen Fel d 1 and induce an allergic immune response. Allergy, 70 (12), 1651-1655. doi: 10.1111/all.12701
2015
Journal Article
MACVIA-ARIA Sentinel NetworK for allergic rhinitis (MASK-rhinitis): the new generation guideline implementation
Bousquet, J., Schunemann, H. J., Fonseca, J., Samolinski, B., Bachert, C., Canonica, G. W., Casale, T., Cruz, A. A., Demoly, P., Hellings, P., Valiulis, A., Wickman, M., Zuberbier, T., Bosnic-Anticevitch, S., Bedbrook, A., Bergmann, K. C., Caimmi, D., Dahl, R., Fokkens, W. J., Grisle, I., Lodrup Carlsen, K., Mullol, J., Muraro, A., Palkonen, S., Papadopoulos, N., Passalacqua, G., Ryan, D., Valovirta, E., Yorgancioglu, A. ... Mercier, J. (2015). MACVIA-ARIA Sentinel NetworK for allergic rhinitis (MASK-rhinitis): the new generation guideline implementation. Allergy, 70 (11), 1372-1392. doi: 10.1111/all.12686
2015
Journal Article
Natural clinical tolerance to peanut in African patients is caused by poor allergenic activity of peanut IgE
Wollmann, E., Hamsten, C., Sibanda, E., Ochome, M., Focke-Tejkl, M., Asarnoj, A., Onell, A., Lilja, G., Gallerano, D., Lupinek, C., Thalhamer, T., Weiss, R., Thalhamer, J., Wickman, M., Valenta, R. and van Hage, M. (2015). Natural clinical tolerance to peanut in African patients is caused by poor allergenic activity of peanut IgE. Allergy, 70 (6), 638-652. doi: 10.1111/all.12592
2015
Journal Article
Molecular Evolution of Hypoallergenic Hybrid Proteins for Vaccination against Grass Pollen Allergy
Linhart, Birgit, Focke-Tejkl, Margarete, Weber, Milena, Narayanan, Meena, Neubauer, Angela, Mayrhofer, Hannes, Blatt, Katharina, Lupinek, Christian, Valent, Peter and Valenta, Rudolf (2015). Molecular Evolution of Hypoallergenic Hybrid Proteins for Vaccination against Grass Pollen Allergy. Journal of Immunology, 194 (8), 4008-+. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1400402
2015
Journal Article
High-Density IgE Recognition of the Major Grass Pollen Allergen Phl p 1 Revealed with Single-Chain IgE Antibody Fragments Obtained by Combinatorial Cloning
Madritsch, Christoph, Gadermaier, Elisabeth, Roder, Uwe W., Lupinek, Christian, Valenta, Rudolf and Flicker, Sabine (2015). High-Density IgE Recognition of the Major Grass Pollen Allergen Phl p 1 Revealed with Single-Chain IgE Antibody Fragments Obtained by Combinatorial Cloning. Journal of Immunology, 194 (5), 2069-2078. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1402185
2014
Journal Article
Multiple independent IgE epitopes on the highly allergenic grass pollen allergen Phl p 5
Levin, M., Rotthus, S., Wendel, S., Najafi, N., Kallstrom, E., Focke-Tejkl, M., Valenta, R., Flicker, S. and Ohlin, M. (2014). Multiple independent IgE epitopes on the highly allergenic grass pollen allergen Phl p 5. Clinical and Experimental Allergy, 44 (11), 1409-1419. doi: 10.1111/cea.12423
2014
Journal Article
Hypoallergenic derivatives of Fel d 1 obtained by rational reassembly for allergy vaccination and tolerance induction
Curin, M., Weber, M., Thalhamer, T., Swoboda, I., Focke-Tejkl, M., Blatt, K., Valent, P., Marth, K., Garmatiuk, T., Gronlund, H., Thalhamer, J., Spitzauer, S. and Valenta, R. (2014). Hypoallergenic derivatives of Fel d 1 obtained by rational reassembly for allergy vaccination and tolerance induction. Clinical and Experimental Allergy, 44 (6), 882-894. doi: 10.1111/cea.12294
2014
Journal Article
Conversion of Der p 23, a New Major House Dust Mite Allergen, into a Hypoallergenic Vaccine
Banerjee, Srinita, Weber, Milena, Blatt, Katharina, Swoboda, Ines, Focke-Tejkl, Margit, Valent, Peter, Valenta, Rudolf and Vrtala, Susanne (2014). Conversion of Der p 23, a New Major House Dust Mite Allergen, into a Hypoallergenic Vaccine. Journal of Immunology, 192 (10), 4867-4875. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1400064
2013
Journal Article
Characterization of mutants of a highly cross-reactive calcium-binding protein from <i>Brassica</i> pollen for allergen-specific immunotherapy
Garmatiuk, Tetiana, Swoboda, Ines, Twardosz-Kropfmueller, Anna, Dall'Antonia, Fabio, Keller, Walter, Singh, Mohan B., Bhalla, Prem L., Okada, Takashi, Toriyama, Kinya, Weber, Milena, Ghannadan, Minoo, Sperr, Wolfgang R., Blatt, Katharina, Valent, Peter, Klein, Brigitte, Niederberger, Verena, Curin, Mirela, Balic, Nadja, Spitzauer, Susanne and Valenta, Rudolf (2013). Characterization of mutants of a highly cross-reactive calcium-binding protein from Brassica pollen for allergen-specific immunotherapy. Immunobiology, 218 (9), 1155-1165. doi: 10.1016/j.imbio.2013.04.006
2013
Journal Article
Identification of Der p 23, a Peritrophin-like Protein, as a New Major <i>Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus</i> Allergen Associated with the Peritrophic Matrix of Mite Fecal Pellets
Weghofer, Margit, Grote, Monika, Resch, Yvonne, Casset, Anne, Kneidinger, Michael, Kopec, Jolanta, Thomas, Wayne R., Fernandez-Caldas, Enrique, Kabesch, Michael, Ferrara, Rosetta, Mari, Adriano, Purohit, Ashok, Pauli, Gabrielle, Horak, Friedrich, Keller, Walter, Valent, Peter, Valenta, Rudolf and Vrtala, Susanne (2013). Identification of Der p 23, a Peritrophin-like Protein, as a New Major Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus Allergen Associated with the Peritrophic Matrix of Mite Fecal Pellets. Journal of Immunology, 190 (7), 3059-3067. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1202288
2013
Journal Article
Determination of allergen specificity by heavy chains in grass pollen allergen-specific IgE antibodies
Gadermaier, Elisabeth, Flicker, Sabine, Lupinek, Christian, Steinberger, Peter and Valenta, Rudolf (2013). Determination of allergen specificity by heavy chains in grass pollen allergen-specific IgE antibodies. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 131 (4), 1185-+. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2012.10.010
2012
Journal Article
Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA): Achievements in 10 years and future needs
Bousquet, J., Schuenemann, H. J., Samolinski, B., Demoly, P., Baena-Cagnani, C. E., Bachert, C., Bonini, S., Boulet, L. P., Bousquet, P. J., Brozek, J. L., Canonica, G. W., Casale, T. B., Cruz, A. A., Fokkens, W. J., Fonseca, J. A., van Wijk, R. Gerth, Grouse, L., Haahtela, T., Khaltaev, N., Kuna, P., Lockey, R. F., Carlsen, K. C. Lodrup, Mullol, J., Naclerio, R., O'Hehir, R. E., Ohta, K., Palkonen, S., Papadopoulos, N. G., Passalacqua, G. ... Zuberbier, T. (2012). Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA): Achievements in 10 years and future needs. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 130 (5), 1049-1062. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2012.07.053
2012
Journal Article
The majority of allergen-specific IgE in the blood of allergic patients does not originate from blood-derived B cells or plasma cells
Eckl-Dorna, J., Pree, I., Reisinger, J., Marth, K., Chen, K. -W., Vrtala, S., Spitzauer, S., Valenta, R. and Niederberger, V. (2012). The majority of allergen-specific IgE in the blood of allergic patients does not originate from blood-derived B cells or plasma cells. Clinical and Experimental Allergy, 42 (9), 1347-1355. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2222.2012.04030.x
2012
Journal Article
Hypoallergenic Der p 1/Der p 2 combination vaccines for immunotherapy of house dust mite allergy
Chen, Kuan-Wei, Blatt, Katharina, Thomas, Wayne R., Swoboda, Ines, Valent, Peter, Valenta, Rudolf and Vrtala, Susanne (2012). Hypoallergenic Der p 1/Der p 2 combination vaccines for immunotherapy of house dust mite allergy. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 130 (2), 435-+. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2012.05.035
2012
Journal Article
Allergen-specific immunotherapy: from therapeutic vaccines to prophylactic approaches
Valenta, R., Campana, R., Marth, K. and van Hage, M. (2012). Allergen-specific immunotherapy: from therapeutic vaccines to prophylactic approaches. Journal of Internal Medicine, 272 (2), 144-157. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2796.2012.02556.x
2012
Journal Article
Vaccines for allergy
Linhart, Birgit and Valenta, Rudolf (2012). Vaccines for allergy. Current Opinion in Immunology, 24 (3), 354-360. doi: 10.1016/j.coi.2012.03.006
2012
Journal Article
Carrier-bound nonallergenic Der p 2 peptides induce IgG antibodies blocking allergen-induced basophil activation in allergic patients
Chen, K. -W., Focke-Tejkl, M., Blatt, K., Kneidinger, M., Gieras, A., Dall'Antonia, F., Fae, I., Fischer, G., Keller, W., Valent, P., Valenta, R. and Vrtala, S. (2012). Carrier-bound nonallergenic Der p 2 peptides induce IgG antibodies blocking allergen-induced basophil activation in allergic patients. Allergy, 67 (5), 609-621. doi: 10.1111/j.1398-9995.2012.02794.x
2012
Journal Article
Understanding the complexity of IgE-related phenotypes from childhood to young adulthood: A Mechanisms of the Development of Allergy (MeDALL) Seminar
Anto, Josep M., Pinart, Mariona, Akdis, Muebeccel, Auffray, Charles, Bachert, Claus, Basagana, Xavier, Carlsen, Kai-Hakon, Guerra, Stefano, von Hertzen, Leena, Illi, Sabina, Kauffmann, Francine, Keil, Thomas, Kiley, James P., Koppelman, Gerard H., Lupinek, Christian, Martinez, Fernando D., Nawijn, Martijn C., Postma, Dirkje S., Siroux, Valerie, Smit, Henriette A., Sterk, Peter J., Sunyer, Jordi, Valenta, Rudolf, Valverde, Sergio, Akdis, Cezmi A., Annesi-Maesano, Isabella, Ballester, Ferran, Benet, Marta, Cambon-Thomsen, Anne ... Bousquet, Jean (2012). Understanding the complexity of IgE-related phenotypes from childhood to young adulthood: A Mechanisms of the Development of Allergy (MeDALL) Seminar. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 129 (4), 943-U421. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2012.01.047
2012
Journal Article
Varying Allergen Composition and Content Affects the in vivo Allergenic Activity of Commercial <i>Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus</i> Extracts
Casset, Anne, Mari, Adriano, Purohit, Ashok, Resch, Yvonne, Weghofer, Margit, Ferrara, Rosetta, Thomas, Wayne R., Alessandri, Claudia, Chen, Kuan-Wei, de Blay, Frederic, Valenta, Rudolf and Vrtala, Susanne (2012). Varying Allergen Composition and Content Affects the in vivo Allergenic Activity of Commercial Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus Extracts. International Archives of Allergy and Immunology, 159 (3), 253-262. doi: 10.1159/000337654
Funding
Current funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Professor Rick Valenta is:
- Available for supervision
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Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Doctor Philosophy
The Footprint of the giant Mount Isa Cu-Pb-Zn-Ag system
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Nathan Fox
-
Doctor Philosophy
Incorporation of Sustainability Variables in Strategic Mine Planning
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Claire Cote
-
Doctor Philosophy
Regional Geological context of the giant Wafi-Golpu Cu-Au deposit, PNG
Principal Advisor
-
Doctor Philosophy
How and to what extent can copper metal be substituted by other metals and materials?
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Steven Micklethwaite
-
Doctor Philosophy
Building Geospatial Models to Inform Critical Mineral Extraction from Mine Waste: Towards a New Industry Standard
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Anita Parbhakar-Fox
-
Doctor Philosophy
Developing Orebody Knowledge of VHMS Systems in the Rosebery Mineral Field, Tasmania
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Anita Parbhakar-Fox, Dr Nathan Fox
Completed supervision
-
2025
Doctor Philosophy
Learning a mineralised fault network at the Cracow Gold Mine from geologically-informed 3D synthetic seismic data
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Dion Weatherley, Professor Geoffrey McLachlan
-
2024
Doctor Philosophy
Mesoscopic Heterogeneity and Pre-Concentration Potential
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Nathan Fox
-
2024
Doctor Philosophy
Study of Application of Machine Learning and Deep Learning in Resource Estimation
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Gordon Forbes
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
Geometallurgical proxies for comminution using hyperspectral imaging and multi-element geochemistry
Principal Advisor
-
2026
Doctor Philosophy
Resolving indium mobility and transformation in mining-impacted environments through multi-scale characterisation
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Laura Jackson, Associate Professor Anita Parbhakar-Fox
-
2025
Master Philosophy
Operational Benchmarking and Ground Response Analysis for Undercutting in High-Stress Cave Mines
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Mr Andre Van As
-
2025
Doctor Philosophy
Multi-scale geometallurgical characterisation of legacy tailings for sustainable critical metal valorisation: A case study exploring the secondary prospectivity of cobalt
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Anita Parbhakar-Fox
Media
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