In the Driver's seat: role of trace elements in enabling crustal fluid flow. This proposal aims to systematically investigate the role of trace elements in controlling the kinetics, product composition, and feed-back between fluid flow and the reaction interface, in fluid-driven mineral reactions. This project expects to provide a framework for the integration of activator trace elements in models of crustal fluid flow and their application in the recovery of base, precious, and critical metals, ....In the Driver's seat: role of trace elements in enabling crustal fluid flow. This proposal aims to systematically investigate the role of trace elements in controlling the kinetics, product composition, and feed-back between fluid flow and the reaction interface, in fluid-driven mineral reactions. This project expects to provide a framework for the integration of activator trace elements in models of crustal fluid flow and their application in the recovery of base, precious, and critical metals, using interdisciplinary approaches across geochemistry, mineral engineering and material sciences. Expected outcomes include improved prediction of the transport of metals and fluids in geo-systems. This should provide significant benefits towards integrating the mineral value chain from exploration to mining and metallurgy.Read moreRead less
Reverse engineering nature: metal extraction through mineral replacement. This project aims to find new methods of copper recovery from low grade copper ores, which are currently uneconomic to mine. In nature, at the top of ore deposits and just below the water-table, is a region known as the supergene zone. Here mild oxidizing reactions take place causing primary ore minerals such as chalcopyrite to be replaced by more copper-rich, less refractory minerals. These processes are driven by disso ....Reverse engineering nature: metal extraction through mineral replacement. This project aims to find new methods of copper recovery from low grade copper ores, which are currently uneconomic to mine. In nature, at the top of ore deposits and just below the water-table, is a region known as the supergene zone. Here mild oxidizing reactions take place causing primary ore minerals such as chalcopyrite to be replaced by more copper-rich, less refractory minerals. These processes are driven by dissolution re-precipitation reactions (CDR reactions) and in many CDR reactions, the reaction mechanism, rather than intensive properties such as pressure and temperature, control the nature of the products and the overall reaction process. This project will explore the mechanism and controls on these reactions to see if they can be utilized in the mining industry to economically extract copper from low grade ores.
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Geochemistry of ore metals at very high temperatures. The world’s largest copper and gold mines occur in extinct volcanoes around the Pacific Rim. Understanding how these essential metals are mobilised from magmas in the roots of volcanoes to become ore deposits and how to recognize where this has occurred is crucial in exploration for new deposits.
The copper-gold fertility of mountain belts. This project aims to identify the timing of, and understand the causes of, sulphide saturation in granitic suites to test the hypothesis that sulphide saturation controls the fertility of copper-gold deposits. More than half of the world’s copper and gold comes from granitic rocks, but most granitic suites are barren. As copper-gold deposits become increasingly difficult to find, and exploration budgets have been slashed, it is critical to reliably di ....The copper-gold fertility of mountain belts. This project aims to identify the timing of, and understand the causes of, sulphide saturation in granitic suites to test the hypothesis that sulphide saturation controls the fertility of copper-gold deposits. More than half of the world’s copper and gold comes from granitic rocks, but most granitic suites are barren. As copper-gold deposits become increasingly difficult to find, and exploration budgets have been slashed, it is critical to reliably distinguish ore bearing from barren systems. Platinum group element geochemistry could make this distinction by pinpointing the timing of sulphide saturation in evolving magma systems. Eliminating barren suites as exploration targets will save Australia’s exploration dollars which can be directed to where the prospects of success are greatest.Read moreRead less
Aqueous fluids in the deep earth. This project aims to improve our understanding of the role of fluids in controlling exchanges between the deep Earth, shallow rocks, and atmosphere. The project expects to investigate some of the key weaknesses in the thermodynamic models that are used to predict the behaviour of sulphur, carbon and metals in fluids at high pressure and temperature by using recent advances in computational and experimental (geo)chemistry. Integrated in large-scale geodynamic mod ....Aqueous fluids in the deep earth. This project aims to improve our understanding of the role of fluids in controlling exchanges between the deep Earth, shallow rocks, and atmosphere. The project expects to investigate some of the key weaknesses in the thermodynamic models that are used to predict the behaviour of sulphur, carbon and metals in fluids at high pressure and temperature by using recent advances in computational and experimental (geo)chemistry. Integrated in large-scale geodynamic models, the more reliable predictions will provide a more realistic assessment of the role of sulphur in controlling metal endowment and atmospheric chemistry through geological times. This should provide a useful guide for mineral exploration and planetary science.Read moreRead less
Deep and smelly: exploring the roles of pressure and sulphur in hydrothermal metal transport. Hot, salty fluids carry metals in the Earth's crust and are responsible for the formation of Australia's mineral wealth. This project combines exciting new experiments with molecular-level simulations to predict metal transport, providing a sound basis for improving mineral exploration models and sustaining discovery of new deposits.
Bioleaching of copper in tropical systems. This project is focussed on bioleaching of chalcopyrite, to recover copper from currently sub-economic low-grade ore. Conventional mining processes are too energy intensive to economically extract copper from low-grade ores. However, these waste ores are still subject to natural, bacterial leaching causing environmental harm. Enhancing this natural process by removing key limitations in bacterial colonisation of metal sulfides aims to enhance bioleachin ....Bioleaching of copper in tropical systems. This project is focussed on bioleaching of chalcopyrite, to recover copper from currently sub-economic low-grade ore. Conventional mining processes are too energy intensive to economically extract copper from low-grade ores. However, these waste ores are still subject to natural, bacterial leaching causing environmental harm. Enhancing this natural process by removing key limitations in bacterial colonisation of metal sulfides aims to enhance bioleaching of low-grade ores creating a win-win scenario, reducing environmental harm while extracting value from these currently uneconomic materials.Read moreRead less
Carbon-neutral copper: unlocking metal value through carbon sequestration. This project aims to explore how the concepts of reaction-induced porosity and coupled dissolution-reprecipitation reactions, which have had a profound impact in geosciences, can be exploited in the context of ore processing through carbon sequestration. The project's main outcomes are to generate a new process that maintains porosity in ore, and a combination of lixiviants, for effective Cu metal recovery and Fe capture. ....Carbon-neutral copper: unlocking metal value through carbon sequestration. This project aims to explore how the concepts of reaction-induced porosity and coupled dissolution-reprecipitation reactions, which have had a profound impact in geosciences, can be exploited in the context of ore processing through carbon sequestration. The project's main outcomes are to generate a new process that maintains porosity in ore, and a combination of lixiviants, for effective Cu metal recovery and Fe capture. This project will benefit the mineral industry by providing an alternative to the current paradigm in Copper mineral processing that requires the destruction of the mineral hosting economic value, thereby developing sustainable mining technologies well suited for the increasingly complex ores being extracted in Australia. Read moreRead less
Subduction of elements with variable oxidation state: effects on the source of arc magmatism. This project will use studies of elements with variable oxidation state: iron; carbon and sulphur, to resolve key geological questions, enable better targeting of ore deposits and develop ways to aid the practicality of mineral sequestration of carbon dioxide.
Magnetite and metal-rich sulphides in arc magmas. Ascending magmas cool and crystallise a variety of minerals. Triggering sulfide deposition which hosts base and precious metals is a critical point in magma evolution. This research will explore the role of magnetite as this trigger and its potential as a tracer of this process.