6 December 2010
CITATION
Award of Doctor of Business honoris causa
Mr Robert Bryan
Chancellor,
Mr Robert (Bob) Bryan, a UQ Bachelor of Science with honours (1956) graduate, has made a life-long contribution to the mining industry in Australia and South-East Asia and a major contribution to The University of Queensland.
In 1983, Mr Bryan founded Pan Australian Mining Ltd through a management buyout; and in his capacity of Managing Director, oversaw the development of a major new gold mine at Mt Leyshon near Charters Towers.
Mr Bryan sold his controlling interest in 1989 but in 1996 founded a new mineral exploration company, now known as PanAust Ltd. Until his retirement in 2008, Mr Bryan chaired PanAust; and during that time he saw the development of a major copper gold mine at Phu Kham in Laos as well as a gold mine under construction in the same country.
In 2000, Mr Bryan founded the Queensland Gas Company which discovered and developed world class coal seam gas resources in the Surat Basin of Queensland. Mr Bryan chaired QGC until it was sold to the BG Group in 2008 for $5.6 billion. It is anticipated that in two years time, the company will be a major exporter of LNG out of Gladstone.
As a tribute to his involvement in the formation of the then Queensland Mining Council, Mr Bryan was appointed the inaugural honorary life member in 1995. Now know as the Queensland Resources Council, this body is a not-for-profit peak industry association representing the commercial developers of Queensland’s minerals and energy resources, and an advocate of the long-term sustainability of these sectors in Queensland.
In 2009, Mr Bryan was recognised by the Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame for outstanding entrepreneurship in the mining industry, significantly contributing to Queensland’s economic development.
Mr Bryan provided seed funding for the establishment of the WH Bryan Mining Geology Research Centre which was named in honour of his father, Professor Walter Heywood Bryan, a former Professor of Geology and Mineralogy at UQ.
Bob Bryan has been a donor at UQ since 1993; a past member of Senate (1996–98); and in 1999, became a voluntary member of the UQ Business Associates network.
Chancellor, in recognition of his distinguished career and significant achievements in the mining industry and his major contribution to The University of Queensland, I present to you Mr Robert Bryan (Bachelor of Science from The University of Queensland) for the award of Doctor of Business honoris causa bestowed by the Senate of The University of Queensland.