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New atlas showcases critical minerals potential

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16th June 2023

By: Esmarie Iannucci

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor: Australasia

     

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Geoscience Australia has developed an atlas of sites across the country pinpointing previously mined and discarded rock and earth which could help boost Australia’s global position as a clean energy powerhouse.

The atlas highlights sites that may contain previously overlooked critical minerals, including those used to produce electric vehicles and solar panels.

The atlas is a collaboration with RMIT University, the University of Queensland, and the geological surveys of Queensland, New South Wales, the Northern Territory, Victoria and South Australia.

Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Madeleine King said the new Atlas of Australian Mine Waste could provide the mining industry with additional opportunities to extract valuable resources from previously mined rock and earth.

“Some of the minerals we need now, and into the future, may not just be in the ground - they’re also in rock piles and tailings on mine sites around the country,” King said.

“These minerals might not have been of interest when first extracted but could now be in hot demand as the world seeks to decarbonise; for example, cobalt in the tailings of old copper mines.

This new atlas puts these potentially lucrative sites on the map for the first time and may open up new sources of critical materials.”

King said that so far the atlas had identified 1 050 sites across Australia as possible sources of critical minerals.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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