Description: With growing recognition of mine waste as a potential host of overlooked critical minerals and a valuable alternative resource, this project aims to advance understanding of indium, and associated critical metals, deportment and biogeochemical behaviour in mine waste environments derived from diverse deposit types.
The research will focus on accelerating characterisation (Theme 2) efforts and exploring broader implications across the following sub-areas:
- Indium and associated critical metals identification and quantification using emerging technologies such as LIBS
- Chalcopyrite as an alternative source for indium
- Indium incorporation mechanisms across the hypogene–supergene–surficial–bacterial continuum
- Indium biogeochemical cycling and implications for metallurgical extraction
- Geochemical modelling of indium and associated critical metals in aqueous low-temperature systems
Benefits: This project will advance understanding of the behaviour and partitioning of indium and associated critical metals in low-temperature mine waste systems, enabling improved identification and quantification in complex matrices and the development of innovative recovery strategies. The outcomes will support Australia in expanding sustainable opportunities for critical mineral security.
