In August at the 2014 Curtin Commercial Innovation Awards, a meter that maximises gold extraction took the top prize.

Adjunct Professor Bill Staunton and his team from the WA School of Mines developed a carbon meter that enables metallurgists to optimise the carbon-in-pulp extraction process, reducing costs, increasing efficiency and ultimately improving yields.

Director of Curtin's office of IP commercialisation, Rohan McDougall, said the simplicity of the new technique and ability for continuous testing meant a previously labour intensive and often inaccurate process could soon be obsolete.

"Instead of sampling a litre of carbon from the top of a one million litre tank, this approach automates the process, measuring 20 litre samples regularly throughout the day, making it less labour intensive and much more accurate," he said.

"The prototype is currently being trialled in Victoria and we are looking to market the technology to gold mines worldwide in the near future."

The winner of the Science and Engineering Prize was the Autonomous Sonde, developed by Associate Professor Anton Kepic in collaboration with Gordon Stewart, Brett Wilkinson and Professor Christian Dupuis.

The Autonomous Sonde is a small shuttle-like device that drilling staff can use to collect down-hole geological data when drilling in minerals exploration.

It uses sensors to analyse the surrounding rock as it is raised from the depths of the borehole, collecting data that far surpasses the traditional method of extracting a narrow core from the earth.

Similar analysis was previously obtained using wire-line techniques, but the expensive equipment and supervision by technical staff often makes the costs prohibitive for minerals exploration.