Episode 6: Metals for the Future

06/08/20 • 57 min

Join us for system-scale thinking in geoscience and a view of a more sustainable world from magmatic -sulfide sources of PGEs and Ni to innovative mineral processing work and technology metals.

Steve Barnes (CSIRO) has spent a career working on magmatic sulfide deposits, leading him to some big thinking over multiple length and time scales. He talks about how his ideas were formed by key individuals and circumstances and where the multi-scale system thinking might lead us in studying other geological processes. We also talk to Steve about the supply of PGEs and what might affect the market in the future, from the impact of lower grade deposits to co-production of other base metals.

Our second story centres on the one hundred-year old process used to extract metals from sulfides – froth flotation. Kathryn Hadler from Imperial College London introduces the key concepts and then poses some important questions about what the next steps are in mineral processing. How can we address the issues of what mineral processing needs to look like in 30 or 40 years, and not just the immediate challenges?

Thinking about the future leads to a wide ranging discussion with Frances Wall, Professor at the Cambourne School of Mines - from the definition of critical metals to the more descriptive technology metals, sourcing REEs from carbonatites, life cycle assessment and how it all can come together in the circular economy, if geoscientists are involved.

For Steve Barnes lecture - check out the Ore Deposits Hub: oredepositshub.com

Technology Metals for a Green Future can be found on: futurelearn.com

Theme music is Confluence by East Winds. www.eastwindsmusic.com

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5. Exploration - Are we Swamped by Data?

There’s one concept everyone in the geosciences can’t stop talking about – data. Whether we’re collecting it, analyzing it, or cleaning it, the work never seems to end.
As we face challenges like deposits becoming deeper and harder to find, how do we make sure we’re leveraging data in the right ways, to support us now and in the future?
The first part is using the right data management practices when we’re collecting data – whether historical or new. Joanne Wood shares how KoBold Metals is approaching data intensive approaches to exploration, and her best practices in data management.
Of course, we also need tools to manipulate and analyze this data once collected. Lindsey Heagy (Ph.D., UC Berkeley) talks about open source software development, and how it contributes to innovation and reproducibility in the geosciences.
And once our data has been manipulated, perhaps we need to pass it onto another team to use. Usually, this is a long and frustrating process involving scripts and error checking. But the Global Mining Guidelines Group has introduced an open standard to combat this – the Open Mining Format (OMF). Franklin Koch (Integration Lead, Seequent) shares why interoperability matters, and his experience writing the first iteration of OMF.
Theme music is Confluence by Eastwinds
eastwindsmusic.com

Come join us in Brisbane, Australia for SEG 2025, September 26-29th. This will be a dynamic conference with cutting edge science, new discoveries, technology and more. Opportunities for networking and learning include several workshops and field trips before and after the event, relaxed social events and of course the conference itself. See you there!

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7. Critical Resources

There are many different aspects of 'critical resourcing' that mining and geology play a part in.
For example, as we look to de-carbonize our economies, renewable energy will become even more important. Dr. Mark Coughlan (Post Doctoral Researcher, Irish Centre for Research in Applied Geosciences) talks about his time at sea – working on research cruises to map the subsea floor for offshore wind farms in Ireland, and the mineral resources needed to build them.
But what about storing that offshore wind energy? That’s where batteries come in. Lucy Crane (Exploration Geologist, Cornish Lithium) takes us through the importance of lithium, new technologies available in that area, and what it means to give back to your local communities.
Lastly, perhaps the most important part of resourcing is being able to staff our future geoscience industry. Nicole Tardif (Laurentian University) talks us through challenges with current demands for geoscientists, and how we can provide our students with the best education going forwards.
Theme music is Confluence by Eastwinds
eastwindsmusic.com