We are pleased to share the Quarter 4 updates from the ARC Centre in Critical Resources for the Future (CCRF), marking a strong close to a year of growth, collaboration, and research impact across the Centre.
In this quarter’s edition, you’ll find:
Team Updates:
Centre Director Professor Marco Fiorentini reflects on a year of consolidation and impact, highlighting the expansion of CCRF’s research portfolio, strengthened industry engagement, and continued investment in training the next generation of critical minerals researchers. The Centre also welcomed Lynas Rare Earths Ltd as a new industry partner, supporting new PhD research, infrastructure investment, and projects focused on heavy rare earth element mineralisation.
Research and Student Highlights:
Two new PhD candidates, Deepyaman Saha and Mistrel Fetzer Boegheim, joined the Centre, bringing strong academic and industry experience in pegmatite systems and rare earth mineralisation. Research highlights this quarter spanned bioleaching of hyper-enriched black shales, process-driven understanding of LCT pegmatite systems, and heavy rare earth element mineralisation at Mt Weld. CCRF-supported researcher Olivia Mejías González also received a Best Student Oral Presentation Award at the 2025 ANSTO Australian Synchrotron User Meeting for her work on indium-bearing mineral systems.
Training and Professional Development:
Hands-on training remained a priority, with CCRF students participating in a practical core logging and analytical workshop at the GSWA Perth Core Library, focused on major lithium pegmatite systems. The Centre also delivered a hybrid introductory podcasting workshop, led by WONDER Podcasts, to build researcher confidence in science communication and research translation.
Centre Activities and Engagement:
CCRF played a leading role in national and international engagement this quarter. The GeoCopper 2025 Workshop, hosted in Adelaide, brought together leading researchers to address Australia’s copper exploration challenges and future research directions. CCRF researchers and students also showcased the breadth of the Centre’s work at the SGGMP 2025 Conference, while international collaboration was strengthened through a visit by Dr Marco Venier (University of Mainz), focusing on lower-crust mineralisation processes.
Outreach and Communication:
The WONDER podcast series continued to grow, with Professor Carl Spandler featured in an episode exploring the geology and significance of lithium, reinforcing CCRF’s commitment to sharing critical minerals research with broader audiences.