This project aims to use molten alkali salts to reprocess mine waste, and transform the rare earths to a readily exploitable form. This project expects to create a scalable industrial separation process to be implemented in existing mines, with the separated ore used as input for extraction. A benefit of this project is the unlocking of a previously inaccessible Australian rare earth resource, comparable in size to the largest deposits globally.

This project is a collaboration between CSIRO, ANU and Lynas Corporation, under CSIRO's iPhD program. It aims to understand the genesis of the niobium enrichment at the Mt Weld carbonatite and to use this information to develop exploration models for future discoveries.

Although Australia has significant reserves there is very limited production. By improving our understanding of the geochemical behaviour of the rare earths we aim 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.

This project aims to provide geological constraints on the thickness and nature of the sub-continental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) beneath the North Australian Craton (NAC) and adjacent regions in the northernmost Tasman Fold Belt in order to evaluate and constrain geophysical models of the lithosphere in this region.

This PhD research will delve into the fractionation processes of carbonatites as they transition towards highly evolved liquids such as magmas, brines, and melts. The project will employ high-pressure experimentation techniques, including cold seal and piston-cylinder experiments, alongside advanced synchrotron-based spectroscopic methods

This PhD project will investigate how rare earth elements (REEs) and critical metals (CMs) partition between crystals, melts, and fluids within evolving carbonatite systems. The research will utilise high-pressure experimental petrology and synchrotron-based techniques, including in situ X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS), to understand the transport mechanisms of these metals.

The project aims to determine how the critical metal niobium is concentrated in the Earth's crust to levels sufficient for economically viable mining.