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Daniel Franks
The University of Queensland
Director, Global Centre for Mineral Security
Description
Professor Franks is the inaugural Director of the Global Centre for Mineral Security at the University of Queensland’s Sustainable Minerals Institute and an Australian Research Council Future Fellow. He is known internationally for his work on the interconnections between minerals, materials and sustainable development, with a particular focus on the role of minerals in poverty reduction.
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He has held the role of Chief Technical Advisor at the United Nations Development Programme; was an advisor to the UN Secretary General's Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals and the UN Secretary General’s Working Group on Transforming the Extractive Industries for Sustainable Development; a member of the scientific board of UNESCO’s International Geosciences Programme; supported the United Nations Environment Programme to implement the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-4) Resolution on Mineral Resource Governance; and was a working group member of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network that provided technical advice on the formulation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
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The grandson of an artisanal miner and great grandson of a small-scale miner, in 2018 he Chaired the First International Conference on Artisanal and Small-scale Mining and Quarrying, which was opened by the President of Zambia, and he spearheaded the ‘Mosi-oa-Tunya Declaration on Artisanal and Small-scale Mining, Quarrying and Development,’ ensuring it reflected the voices of informal miners. He subsequently supported the establishment of the Delve Exchange knowledge network of artisanal and small-scale miners with the World Bank, which was awarded a Global Good Award for Educational Excellence in 2023.
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