Realising Australia’s rare earth resource potential. This project aims to reveal the potential for undiscovered economic deposits of rare earth elements within the Australian continent. Future supply of these elements underpins societies transition to clean energy and embrace of high-tech applications. The project expects to greatly enhance our knowledge of Australia’s endowment of rare earth element resources using an array of traditional and innovative geological research methods. Expected out ....Realising Australia’s rare earth resource potential. This project aims to reveal the potential for undiscovered economic deposits of rare earth elements within the Australian continent. Future supply of these elements underpins societies transition to clean energy and embrace of high-tech applications. The project expects to greatly enhance our knowledge of Australia’s endowment of rare earth element resources using an array of traditional and innovative geological research methods. Expected outcomes of this project include a greater understanding of how, where and when rare earth element orebodies form in the Earth's crust. This should provide significant benefits to exploring for––and discovering––new orebodies that are required to secure global critical metal supplies. Read moreRead less
Impact of melt loss on crustal heat production and Earth geodynamics. This project plans to develop a thermodynamic tool set to calculate the amounts of rare earth elements, thorium and uranium in monazite and link its growth and radiogenic heat budget to rock evolution. Thorium (Th) and uranium (U) produce 83 per cent of the heat in Earth’s continental crust. Vast tracts of high-heat-producing rock from hot, deep parts of the crust defy the notion that such crust is depleted in Th and U. The ca ....Impact of melt loss on crustal heat production and Earth geodynamics. This project plans to develop a thermodynamic tool set to calculate the amounts of rare earth elements, thorium and uranium in monazite and link its growth and radiogenic heat budget to rock evolution. Thorium (Th) and uranium (U) produce 83 per cent of the heat in Earth’s continental crust. Vast tracts of high-heat-producing rock from hot, deep parts of the crust defy the notion that such crust is depleted in Th and U. The causes of high heat production in the deep crust remain unclear. This project will develop a tool set to calculate the Th and U concentration in minerals (eg monazite, zircon) and silicate melt as a function of depth, temperature and rock composition. This tool set would be of great benefit to the geoscience community for better understanding fundamental geodynamic processes.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0775482
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$500,000.00
Summary
Ultratrace element and isotope analysis facility. Analysis of trace concentrations of contaminants in food, water and biota is essential for proper environmental and human health protection, and the ability to analyse different isotopes of nutrients will improve our capability to develop techniques to fortify foods with essential micronutrients. The instrumentation will also assist our understanding of the geological processes, climate and environmental change and the formation and location of m ....Ultratrace element and isotope analysis facility. Analysis of trace concentrations of contaminants in food, water and biota is essential for proper environmental and human health protection, and the ability to analyse different isotopes of nutrients will improve our capability to develop techniques to fortify foods with essential micronutrients. The instrumentation will also assist our understanding of the geological processes, climate and environmental change and the formation and location of mineral deposits having economic potential in Australia. By improving forensic identification techniques, the instrumentation will allow identification and tracking of environmental contamination of the food chain and water supplies, and to identify and track criminal and terrorist activity. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210101126
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$416,419.00
Summary
Stability of accessory minerals during low temperature geological processes. The project aims to improve Australia’s ability to discover mineral deposits beneath sedimentary basins by determining whether detrital accessory minerals in sedimentary basins can be an effective exploration tool. This project expects to generate new knowledge on the stability of detrital accessory minerals in the sedimentary cycle using observations from natural rocks and laboratory experiments. Expected outcomes incl ....Stability of accessory minerals during low temperature geological processes. The project aims to improve Australia’s ability to discover mineral deposits beneath sedimentary basins by determining whether detrital accessory minerals in sedimentary basins can be an effective exploration tool. This project expects to generate new knowledge on the stability of detrital accessory minerals in the sedimentary cycle using observations from natural rocks and laboratory experiments. Expected outcomes include an assessment of the accessory minerals that are best suited to exploration vectoring studies in sedimentary basins. This should provide significant benefits to government and industry by improving mineral exploration methods and also has implications for geochronology and provenance studies.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
Mapping mineral systems of deep Australia. We aim at enabling mineral resource discoveries by calibrating geophysical surveys using geochemical and petrophysical properties measured on mantle samples brought to the surface by recent volcanoes. National geophysical surveys deliver images of geophysical gradients in the deeper part of the Australian continent. The interpretation of these gradients in geological terms and in terms of economic mineral systems is the key to unlock deep exploration su ....Mapping mineral systems of deep Australia. We aim at enabling mineral resource discoveries by calibrating geophysical surveys using geochemical and petrophysical properties measured on mantle samples brought to the surface by recent volcanoes. National geophysical surveys deliver images of geophysical gradients in the deeper part of the Australian continent. The interpretation of these gradients in geological terms and in terms of economic mineral systems is the key to unlock deep exploration success. This project will turn Australia’s investment in National geophysical surveys into new discoveries of base metals. The benefit stems from enabling the transition to a clean economy which requires a much broader range of critical minerals and a larger quantity of base metals.Read moreRead less
Breaking Gondwana: interplay between tectonics, climate and resources. The project aims to reconstruct 250 million years of landscape evolution in response to rifting and break-up of the Gondwana supercontinent, using the innovative approach of combining regional thermochronology with global plate tectonic models. From these reconstructions, the time-integrated record of exhumation and erosion at the continental margins will be revealed at an unprecedented scale. The main expected outcome will b ....Breaking Gondwana: interplay between tectonics, climate and resources. The project aims to reconstruct 250 million years of landscape evolution in response to rifting and break-up of the Gondwana supercontinent, using the innovative approach of combining regional thermochronology with global plate tectonic models. From these reconstructions, the time-integrated record of exhumation and erosion at the continental margins will be revealed at an unprecedented scale. The main expected outcome will be a deep time archive of the relationships between tectonic forcing, continental erosion and the global climate, which may assist predictions and debate on future climate change. The outcomes will also provide economic benefits as they will inform on the exhumation and preservation of (critical) mineral resources.Read moreRead less
The carbonate geology of the critical metal niobium. This project aims to understand how pyrochlore, the major ore mineral of the critical metal niobium, forms in
Earth’s crust. Niobium is exclusively mined from carbonatite magma bodies in Brazil and Canada, despite proven
Australian resources. It is used in high strength steel alloys in the construction and transport industries. Expected
research outcomes include understanding how pyrochlore forms in carbonatites, development of exploration too ....The carbonate geology of the critical metal niobium. This project aims to understand how pyrochlore, the major ore mineral of the critical metal niobium, forms in
Earth’s crust. Niobium is exclusively mined from carbonatite magma bodies in Brazil and Canada, despite proven
Australian resources. It is used in high strength steel alloys in the construction and transport industries. Expected
research outcomes include understanding how pyrochlore forms in carbonatites, development of exploration tools
to locate niobium ore bodies which are unexposed at the surface, and investigation of environmentally and
economically sustainable technologies for metallurgical extraction of niobium from ore. The research is intended
to benefit Australia’s critical metals exploration and mining industries.Read moreRead less
The geochemistry of rare earth elements in carbonate melts. This project aims to determine why deposits of rare earth elements, which are critical for modern devices and technologies such as phones, tablets and plasma screens, are associated with carbonate magmas. The global supply of these critical metals is geopolitically unstable and, although Australia has significant reserves, there is very limited production. By improving our understanding of the geochemical behaviour of the rare earths th ....The geochemistry of rare earth elements in carbonate melts. This project aims to determine why deposits of rare earth elements, which are critical for modern devices and technologies such as phones, tablets and plasma screens, are associated with carbonate magmas. The global supply of these critical metals is geopolitically unstable and, although Australia has significant reserves, there is very limited production. By improving our understanding of the geochemical behaviour of the rare earths this project aims to develop new reverse-engineering methods for their extraction, which will improve the security of supply of these elements and enhance Australia's role in high-tech industries. The project will enhance the profitability of the Australian resources sector through improved extraction economics and will secure the supply of these critical metals for Australian high-tech industries and export. The outcomes will be targeted initially at junior resource companies that are not yet profitable.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0882493
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$700,000.00
Summary
High-accuracy spectroscopy under extreme conditions: combining novel synchrotron and laboratory-based spectroscopy. This project aims at maintaining the leading position of Australia in nationally important fields such as ore and environmental geology, ore processing and metallurgy, nano- and bio-technology. This project aims to establish an integrated set of state-of-the-art, often unique and revolutionary new tools, taking in particular advantage of local innovation in instrumentation and spec ....High-accuracy spectroscopy under extreme conditions: combining novel synchrotron and laboratory-based spectroscopy. This project aims at maintaining the leading position of Australia in nationally important fields such as ore and environmental geology, ore processing and metallurgy, nano- and bio-technology. This project aims to establish an integrated set of state-of-the-art, often unique and revolutionary new tools, taking in particular advantage of local innovation in instrumentation and spectroscopy theory, of the investment in major facilities (Australian Synchrotron). By improving cross-disciplinary links among research groups interested in in-situ spectroscopy (Earth Sciences, Physics, Chemistry, Biological Sciences, Biochemistry, Biomedicine, Engineering), this application will results in major scientific and industrial advances.Read moreRead less