Accelerating Development of Australia’s Rare Earth Resources
Last updated:15 October 2024
As part of the Critical Minerals Research and Development Hub, Geoscience Australia will contribute new knowledge on Australia’s rare earth element (REE) mineral potential on a national-scale with a focus on clay-hosted REE mineral deposits found in Australia.
This project is being led by the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO).
Why are we investigating rare earth elements?
Rare earth elements (REEs) are vital for the development of components used to manufacture key technologies needed for a net zero future, such as electric vehicles and wind turbines.
Australia has high prospectivity and endowment of hard rock sources for REEs (e.g., carbonatite, peralkaline intrusion or volcanic, and unconformity-related); however, these deposit styles often require complex processing pathways.
In order to create a resilient and sustainable supply chain of REEs, Australia will need to identify diverse resources of these elements. As such, industry are being encouraged to expand into new and under-explored styles of mineralisation across Australia.
This project aims to increase and improve the knowledge needed to unlock the potential of clay-hosted REE deposits (including ionic adsorption REE deposits), which often have favourable environmental and processing outcomes, to support the discovery of diverse resources for a secure REE supply chain.
Separated REE oxides of praseodymium (Pr) and neodymium (Nd) and a Samarium (Sm), Europium (Eu), Gadolinium (Gd) “SEG” oxide
What are we doing?
As part of this project Geoscience Australia is:
- Undertaking a review of Australia's priority REE mineral deposit styles (with a focus on clay-hosted REE deposits) and developing associated mineral system models.
- Developing mineral potential maps for priority REE mineral systems, including the first-ever national-scale mineral potential map for clay-hosted REE deposits.
- Providing workshops to stakeholders with the purpose of disseminating the REE mineral system models, mineral potential maps, as well as supporting data and knowledge.
Our Hub partners are also involved in this project:
- ANSTO will develop different processing routes of clay-hosted REE deposits, whilst also maintaining a focus on operating costs and environmental outcomes and;
- CSIRO will investigate deposit-scale studies of clay-hosted REE deposits to examine commonalities and differences in REE accumulations across Australia.
What is Geoscience Australia’s goal?
Our goal is that this project will develop comprehensive mineral system models associated with REE deposits, which will provide insights into the geological processes and conditions that govern their formation. The outcomes of this project include:
- Increased and improved knowledge of Australia's REE mineral systems, expanding our geological understanding of its potential, improving investment confidence for new exploration and discovery in Australia.
- A mineral potential assessment of Australia's potential in REE supporting new exploration and increasing Australia's inventory for REE, with a focus on heavy-REE.
- Improved research and industry collaboration on REE exploration.
The project will support an enduring capability at Geoscience Australia, whereby the development of the mineral systems models and associated mineral potential maps provide the foundations for other mineral systems to be examined using these same methodologies.