Geology
About
Most of Earth’s critical resources are extracted from rocks. Geology is the science of rocks, encompassing their characterisation, formation, evolution through time, and more. One of the ultimate goals of geology in the context of critical minerals is enhancing our ability to explore for additional deposits and better understand known deposits.
Drill core of Nolans Bore, a REE deposit, showing various mineralised zones and rock types.
Geology is undertaken using both field and lab-based methods, and it underpins many of the other research themes such as geochemistry and mineralogy. Geology can also be experimental: one of the best ways to understand a rock is to make it yourself, and the Research School of Earth Sciences hosts one of the largest experimental petrology labs in the world where a variety of high pressure and temperature furnaces are used to recreate rocks at a range of conditions within the earth, including volcanoes, deep magma chambers, and metamorphic settings.
