Linking the deep carbon cycle with critical mineral deposits. This project aims to determine how the global carbon cycle controlled the occurrence of carbonatites, which provide most of the world’s rare earth elements, using novel methods to improve our understanding of carbonatites and carbon-rich mantle rocks. This project expects to generate new knowledge on how global geodynamic processes, including the supercontinent cycle, influenced carbon recycling and mantle enrichments. This project wi ....Linking the deep carbon cycle with critical mineral deposits. This project aims to determine how the global carbon cycle controlled the occurrence of carbonatites, which provide most of the world’s rare earth elements, using novel methods to improve our understanding of carbonatites and carbon-rich mantle rocks. This project expects to generate new knowledge on how global geodynamic processes, including the supercontinent cycle, influenced carbon recycling and mantle enrichments. This project will have significant economic benefits for targeting economically critical mineral deposits required to transition to a decarbonized world and placing the carbon cycle in a paleogeographic context to understand the climate in deep time.Read moreRead less
Exploring volcanic arcs as factories of critical minerals. Volcanoes at destructive plate boundaries (magmatic arcs) host most global copper deposits, critical for renewable energy and in unprecedented rising demand. This project aims to use high-resolution geochemical zoning of erupted crystals to uncover how magmatic processes lead to copper mineralisation and explosive volcanic eruption in arc volcanoes. The expected outcome is new knowledge on the inner workings of volcanoes and their copper ....Exploring volcanic arcs as factories of critical minerals. Volcanoes at destructive plate boundaries (magmatic arcs) host most global copper deposits, critical for renewable energy and in unprecedented rising demand. This project aims to use high-resolution geochemical zoning of erupted crystals to uncover how magmatic processes lead to copper mineralisation and explosive volcanic eruption in arc volcanoes. The expected outcome is new knowledge on the inner workings of volcanoes and their copper enrichment potential. Anticipated applications are refined exploration targeting for copper and improved volcano hazard assessment. This will benefit the Asia-Pacific region and enhance the capacity of mining companies in the global race to produce metals of the future.Read moreRead less
Antimony geochemistry and Earth's dynamic near-surface iron cycle. This project aims to advance our fundamental understanding on the geochemistry of antimony – a critical mineral resource and environmental pollutant of growing concern. This will be achieved by pioneering an innovative combination of advanced synchrotron-based tools and sophisticated isotopic approaches to unravel important interactions between antimony geochemistry and the iron cycle in soils, sediments and aquatic systems. The ....Antimony geochemistry and Earth's dynamic near-surface iron cycle. This project aims to advance our fundamental understanding on the geochemistry of antimony – a critical mineral resource and environmental pollutant of growing concern. This will be achieved by pioneering an innovative combination of advanced synchrotron-based tools and sophisticated isotopic approaches to unravel important interactions between antimony geochemistry and the iron cycle in soils, sediments and aquatic systems. The expected outcomes will provide novel insights into refined strategies to manipulate coupling between antimony mobility and iron cycling for improved rehabilitation of degraded landscapes, safe disposal of hazardous wastes and sustainable exploitation of Australia’s valuable antimony reserves.Read moreRead less