Australian Critical Minerals R&D Hub

Looking forward to this webinar on critical minerals and the opportunities for Australia in the energy transition. Thanks to ANSTO for inviting me to join the panel. Sign up in the link below!

Can Australia realise the value from the critical minerals it already extracts?   About 50 per cent of the critical minerals on Australia’s Critical Minerals List are co-products or by-products of major commodities such as copper, zinc, lead, nickel and aluminium. These by-products include germanium, gallium and indium in zinc ores and gallium in bauxite ores.   In an ideal world, we would capture our critical minerals in the processing of those major commodities.   But by-products often have small markets and highly concentrated supply chains. As a result, they’re not often captured in the refining process in Australia.   Researchers working on the Hub’s by-products project visited Nyrstar's Port Pirie multi-metal smelter to understand how they’re recovering and refining valuable metal elements such as lead and zinc, and to understand the behaviour of critical minerals during the processing of complex concentrates.   Flowsheets are key.   Unlocking the potential of by-products in Australia requires understanding where are the most prospective deposits, what are the most efficient forms of extraction and what are the technoeconomics of commercial production.   Find out more about the Hub’s by-product project. The research is focused on gallium and germanium and will give us greater insights into Australia’s supply chain potential ▶️ https://lnkd.in/gJS49fVN Geoscience Australia ANSTO CSIRO Marcus Haynes Chris Griffith Nawshad Haque #criticalminerals #mineralbyproducts #processing #germanium #gallium

Thanks to our partner ANSTO for this opportunity. The Hub's Lucy O'Connor will be part of the panel to discuss the role of R&D in developing new technology in critical minerals processing and driving innovation and sustainability. Collaboration is key. Registration is free via the link below.

High ESG standards are an essential part of Australia’s value proposition in mining and mineral processing, particularly as we work with like-minded partners to develop and diversify the critical minerals value chain. This position at CSIRO is an exciting opportunity to be a leader in the innovation we need to get there. ▶️ Applications close this Sunday (check details). 

In the world of critical minerals, you could say that High Purity Alumina (HPA) is not so much for purists, it’s for perfectionists. HPA purity starts at 99.99% (4N) to at least 99.9999% (6N) and the purer it is, the more chemically stable, scratch and temperature-resistant it becomes. That makes HPA one of the key materials essential for the energy transition, with applications in LEDs, sapphire glass, catalysts, and lithium-ion batteries, where its growing use to coat separator sheets improves safety and battery life. Yet, current production processes are energy and carbon-intensive – and accurately quantifying ultra-trace impurities is a key challenge when assessing HPA purity. Funded by the Hub, CSIRO is undertaking a large fundamental R&D project on the production of HPA from diverse feedstocks, seeking to provide a step change in processing routes, product quality, techno-economics and ESG standards. To find out more, go to our website where there is information on each of the projects funded through the Hub ▶️ https://lnkd.in/gGd9WVZE 📸 In the lab with Diego Souza, Ph.D. Godfrey Mawire AISSA POLENIO and Tommaso Tacchetto Allan Costine Chris Vernon Lucy O'Connor Louise Fisher Andrew Jenkin #criticalminerals #mineralsprocessing #valuechain #researchanddevelopment

At our booth, in presentations and panel sessions and at meetings in the margins, this week at #IMARC has been a valuable opportunity to discuss the importance of R&D and future R&D collaboration as we develop and diversify the critical minerals value chain. Thank you to Christine Charles, Allison Britt, Chris Vernon and Chris Griffith for the great panel session on the strengths and gaps in our critical minerals eco-system. And thanks also to Melissa Craig from CSIRO who provided a preview of our upcoming series of reports highlighting R&D collaboration opportunities with some of our biggest trading partners. Stay tuned for the public release of these reports later this year. For any follow up, please contact us at criticalmineralshub@csiro.au and keep up to date with our activities on our website: ▶️ https://lnkd.in/gENSgbUV Lucy O'Connor Ewa Ginal-Cumblidge (She / Her) Carla González Zlatar Chris Vernon Chris Griffith Marcus Haynes CSIRO Geoscience Australia ANSTO Department of Industry, Science and Resources Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) #criticalminerals #resources #energytransition

For those of you at #IMARC, experts from the Hub's 3 partners working on rare earths are available at the Hub booth and the ANSTO and Geoscience Australia booths. #criticalminerals #rareearths #energytransition

Researchers and industry already have a good understanding of the techniques for extracting and processing rare earth elements. This includes from high grade deposits that contain REE-bearing minerals. The next step is to deepen our understanding of the formation, mineralogy and processing routes for lower grade deposits – particularly clay-hosted REE. Heavy REE can be comparable to a traditional deposit and that means they could have an important role to play in providing a resilient and sustainable supply chain of heavy REE. One of the Hub-funded research projects is Accelerating Development of Australia’s Rare Earth Resources. Hub partners are working on the whole value chain, from developing a national mineral potential map that indicates the regions of Australia most prospective for clay-hosted REE deposits to developing processing flowsheets specifically for Australian clay-hosted deposits. Find out more about how we're unlocking the power of Australia’s rare earth elements: ▶️ https://lnkd.in/gSEiEG6t Geoscience Australia CSIRO ANSTO #criticalminerals #researchanddevelopment #minerals #resources #energytransition #rareearths

Join us #IMARC in Sydney this Tuesday from 16.00-16.30 for a discussion on Supporting Critical Minerals R&D. The session will be moderated by a member of the Hub's Stakeholder Advisory Group, the highly respected Christine Charles. Panellists, representing the 3 Hub partners, are:  Allison Britt, Director: Mineral Resources Advice and Promotion, Geoscience Australia Chris Vernon, Critical Minerals Lead, CSIRO Chris Griffith, Principal Consultant, ANSTO. We look forward to an animated discussion on the critical minerals eco-system and the role of R&D: 💡 what is different about critical minerals 💡 where are our strengths 💡 what are the gaps - in both knowledge and capability. #criticalminerals #resources #miningindustry #energytransition International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC)

The Australian Critical Minerals R&D Hub is looking forward to the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) in Sydney next week. You can find us at booth J40 - alongside Hub partners ANSTO and Geoscience Australia. Come and talk to us about research the Hub is funding to address the R&D priority technical challenges to scale up and commercialise Australia’s critical minerals sector. At IMARC, we're also looking forward to conversations with international delegations about potential opportunities, in our role facilitating international R&D collaboration and developing strategic supply chain resilience. In the meantime, discover more about our research projects and expertise across Australia's three leading science agencies on our website: ▶️ https://lnkd.in/gb__5sJE #criticalminerals #RandD #energytransition