Critical minerals leaders face big expectations

John Howard famously said, ‘The two hardest jobs in Australia are prime minister and captain of the Australian Cricket team.’ In line with that, arguably the two hardest jobs in Queensland right now are State of Origin coach and Director of the Julius Kruschnitt Mineral Centre (JKMRC). Both are high-stakes careers built on managing large expectations. JKMRC director Professor Mohsen Yahyaei is rallying for transformational solutions to process minerals used for key industries like transportation, energy, defence and computing. With intense pressure on scientists to plan a clean energy future in decades if not years, Professor Yahyaei called for more focus on innovation. Director JMKRC Prof Mohsen Yahyaei Extracting critical minerals was as complicated a mineral beneficiation as they came and a wholistic view was needed, he said. “Many aspects and constraints are informing the viable processing pathways for critical minerals. Water, energy, environmental impact, the workforce’s health and safety and their technical capability. These are just a few to name.” “All of this is going to be taken and used by my research team as information about the viability of novel processing pathways. “So if I know that actually, water is a constraint, or the environmental impact is a constraint, I have to come up with the methodologies that are less water-intensive, or have less environmental impacts, and also develop solutions which are easy to operate and manage when the workforce is a constraint.” Professor Yahyaei also stressed the importance of collaboration in the industry to achieve sustainability. “It is important to note, given the nature of the challenge, a multi-disciplinary approach and multi-disciplinary team is essential, and no one group will be able to address the challenge. “Collaboration of all relevant parties is essential to develop a viable solution so the industry can supply a critical mineral required for society's sustainable development. “Within the Sustainable Minerals Institute of the University of Queensland, we have domain experts in almost all aspects related to the viable processing of critical minerals, which can support my team in their research to develop and de-risk novel processing solutions. “We also have active collaboration nationally and internationally with leading experts, which puts us in a prime position in developing solutions for critical minerals.” Speaking at a recent vanadium forum in North West Queensland, Professor Yahyaei said his team were joining forces with junior miners in the industry to develop a range of novel processing technologies. The opportunity to fill a blank slate with critical minerals processing options would be as important as the contribution of Mount Isa Mines developing novel technologies such as the Isamill and Isasmelt that set new standards for copper production in the 1970s, said Professor Yahyaei “Currently, vanadium extraction is a complicated process, utilising a lot of resources. Innovative thinking is key in reducing environmental impacts and managing all the risks associated with this process. “That could be a very good example for the world as well, in terms of thinking out of the box, not trying to just only look after economics as a key driver, but also incorporating all of the sustainability aspects. “Because in my view, if you think innovatively, you not only meet the economic metrics but also you can follow all of the requirements around the environmental and social performance. “And that only requires thinking out of the box. I’m confident that we can set a new example for the mineral processing industry based off what I’ve seen and heard at the vanadium forum.” It helps to be grounded when faced with such big challenges. As Maroons coach Billy Slater said in response to a question about his preparation in the lead up to the 2023 State of Origin series, 'My feet are where my heart is ...'

Critical minerals leaders face big expectations

Industry Queensland

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