Rehabilitation strategies for metalliferous mine wastes using native metallophytes from Pb-Zn-Ag gossans, northwest Queensland. The global area covered with mine waste is in the order of 100 million hectares containing several 100,000 million tonnes of mine wastes. The long-term sustainable rehabilitation of metal mine sites is inhibited by our lack of knowledge of metal resistance and uptake by Australian native plants. This project will evaluate metallophytes naturally growing on metal-rich so ....Rehabilitation strategies for metalliferous mine wastes using native metallophytes from Pb-Zn-Ag gossans, northwest Queensland. The global area covered with mine waste is in the order of 100 million hectares containing several 100,000 million tonnes of mine wastes. The long-term sustainable rehabilitation of metal mine sites is inhibited by our lack of knowledge of metal resistance and uptake by Australian native plants. This project will evaluate metallophytes naturally growing on metal-rich soils, northwest Queensland, for their capabilities and revegetation potential when grown in mine wastes of the Cannington Ag-Pb-Zn mine. Outcomes will include practical, innovative methods of mine site rehabilitation that are low-cost and environmentally-friendly.Read moreRead less
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
Nature's mechanisms for leaching and remobilising metals. This project aims to understand the chemical and physical processes that govern reactive transport and metal scavenging in rocky environments. Much of Australia's mineral wealth is the result of the interaction of warm fluids with rocks deep in the Earth over geological timescales. The formation of ore deposits is governed by the physical chemistry of mineral dissolution and crystallisation, and by fluid flow through porous rocks and frac ....Nature's mechanisms for leaching and remobilising metals. This project aims to understand the chemical and physical processes that govern reactive transport and metal scavenging in rocky environments. Much of Australia's mineral wealth is the result of the interaction of warm fluids with rocks deep in the Earth over geological timescales. The formation of ore deposits is governed by the physical chemistry of mineral dissolution and crystallisation, and by fluid flow through porous rocks and fractures. This project integrates innovation in geology, chemistry, and mineral engineering, and will deliver mineral-scale reaction models that will increase efficiency of in-situ mining and leaching technologies. Knowledge generated can be applied to improve mineral exploration, mining, and processing, contributing to unlocking billions of dollars’ worth of resources tied up in low grade, mineralogically complex ores.Read moreRead less
Fluid-induced creation and decay of porosity and permeability in minerals. This project aims to investigate the role of hydrothermal fluids in the creation and decay of porosity and permeability in minerals. By developing new experimental techniques and undertaking experimental studies mimicking natural conditions, this project expects to generate knowledge of the fundamental relationships between fluid-mineral reactions, pore creation and decay, pore geometry and connectivity, and the mechanism ....Fluid-induced creation and decay of porosity and permeability in minerals. This project aims to investigate the role of hydrothermal fluids in the creation and decay of porosity and permeability in minerals. By developing new experimental techniques and undertaking experimental studies mimicking natural conditions, this project expects to generate knowledge of the fundamental relationships between fluid-mineral reactions, pore creation and decay, pore geometry and connectivity, and the mechanism for the formation of fluid inclusions. This should provide significant benefits such as a deeper understanding of the hydrothermal fluids flowing through tight rocks in the Earth’s crust to form orebodies, and provide a scientific basis to underpin the development of greener technologies for recovering natural resources.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE140100150
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$700,000.00
Summary
A Digital Mineralogy & Materials Characterisation Hub for Petrology, Mineralogy, Exploration, Metallurgy and Reservoir Characterisation Research. A digital mineralogy and materials characterisation hub for petrology, mineralogy, exploration, metallurgy and reservoir characterisation research: This project will establish a digital mineralogy and materials characterisation hub for applications in petrology, geometallurgy, reservoir characterisation, environmental science, soil science, mineral pro ....A Digital Mineralogy & Materials Characterisation Hub for Petrology, Mineralogy, Exploration, Metallurgy and Reservoir Characterisation Research. A digital mineralogy and materials characterisation hub for petrology, mineralogy, exploration, metallurgy and reservoir characterisation research: This project will establish a digital mineralogy and materials characterisation hub for applications in petrology, geometallurgy, reservoir characterisation, environmental science, soil science, mineral processing and extractive metallurgy research. An automated mineral analysis instrument would complement the mineral separation (selFrag HV pulse fragmentation) and microanalytical facilities (SHRIMP/Cameca ion microprobes and ELA-ICP-MS) available to the participants via the John de Laeter Centre for Isotope Research. The instrument and software package making up the FEI QEMSCAN 650F model is the most advanced configuration on the market, and ideally suited for the high level research projects undertaken by the partner institutions. Read moreRead less
Nanoscale repositories of the geological record of Earth and other planets. Rhenium-Osmium (Re-Os) dating is used widely to infer Earth's evolution, but most samples are hydrated, with consequent mobility of Re, which is problematic for interpretation of isotope results. This project will solve this problem by determining the effects of hydration on Re and Os. Further, our knowledge of the mobility of Re and related elements will allow us to recognise rocks that once interacted with water, even ....Nanoscale repositories of the geological record of Earth and other planets. Rhenium-Osmium (Re-Os) dating is used widely to infer Earth's evolution, but most samples are hydrated, with consequent mobility of Re, which is problematic for interpretation of isotope results. This project will solve this problem by determining the effects of hydration on Re and Os. Further, our knowledge of the mobility of Re and related elements will allow us to recognise rocks that once interacted with water, even after that water has gone, providing a tool to read the record of Earth's earliest oceans. Our new methods will enable Re-Os dating with clarity and confidence, with profound implications for understanding of Earth and extra-terrestrial planetary evolution.Read moreRead less
Fish fingerprints - signatures of oil contamination. The project aims to integrate chemical characterisation of crude oil with inorganic and organic markers in living organisms. Linking harmful effects on ecosystems with exposure to spilled crude oil remains a major challenge due to the ever-changing nature of oil in the environment. This project will expose fish to a range of fresh/weathered oils to mimic various exposure scenarios. The transition of oil to metabolites will be characterised in ....Fish fingerprints - signatures of oil contamination. The project aims to integrate chemical characterisation of crude oil with inorganic and organic markers in living organisms. Linking harmful effects on ecosystems with exposure to spilled crude oil remains a major challenge due to the ever-changing nature of oil in the environment. This project will expose fish to a range of fresh/weathered oils to mimic various exposure scenarios. The transition of oil to metabolites will be characterised in a suite of environmental and biological matrices using multi-dimensional chromatography/mass spectrometry, trace metals and compound-specific isotope analyses. This project will provide significant benefits by providing an improved capacity to link source oil with specific markers in living organisms.Read moreRead less
Unsaturated zone functioning in a semi-arid flash flood driven climate. Groundwater is the only perennial water source in arid and semiarid zones, which encompass 1/3 of the global landmass and 70 % of Australia. We still do not fully understand how the unsaturated zone contributes to groundwater recharge in semi-arid zone floodplains. We will study the dynamics of soil moisture, and its contribution to groundwater recharge respective to hydrological regimes and weather patterns. We will measure ....Unsaturated zone functioning in a semi-arid flash flood driven climate. Groundwater is the only perennial water source in arid and semiarid zones, which encompass 1/3 of the global landmass and 70 % of Australia. We still do not fully understand how the unsaturated zone contributes to groundwater recharge in semi-arid zone floodplains. We will study the dynamics of soil moisture, and its contribution to groundwater recharge respective to hydrological regimes and weather patterns. We will measure direct responses to flood events using loggers and compare them to indirect measurements inferred from hydrochemical and isotope tracer models to better understand recharge patterns, evaporative losses, and interactions between surface runoff, floodplains, and aquifers at different positions in the landscape.Read moreRead less
The Effects of Crystal-Plastic Deformation on Zircon Geochemical Systems. This project establishes the significance of deformation-related fast-diffusion pathways on the zircon geochemical system and develops intragrain compositional variations as new tools for tracking geological processes. The unique application of zircon to constrain geological processes in numerous Earth Science disciplines over 4.4 billion years of Earth history ensures that results will have far-reaching impact in the Aust ....The Effects of Crystal-Plastic Deformation on Zircon Geochemical Systems. This project establishes the significance of deformation-related fast-diffusion pathways on the zircon geochemical system and develops intragrain compositional variations as new tools for tracking geological processes. The unique application of zircon to constrain geological processes in numerous Earth Science disciplines over 4.4 billion years of Earth history ensures that results will have far-reaching impact in the Australian and International Earth Science community. As such this project will maintain Australia's leading international reputation in accessory mineral research.Read moreRead less
Unravelling the cycling of nitrogen along a subtropical freshwater-marine continuum using a multi-isotope, multi-tracer and modelling approach. This project will significantly advance our understanding of the sources, cycling and pathways of nitrogen along a sub-tropical catchment-river-estuary. As such, the findings from this research will have direct implications to the management, rehabilitation and protection of waterways (including biodiversity) in Australia.