Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Critical or strategic elements (CSEs) are required to achieve societal goals such as greenhouse gas emissions reductions. While some CSEs are produced as primary products (lithium, uranium and aluminium for example), many others are co-products or by-products. Such elements include cobalt, antimony and tellurium, which are prone to supply constraints or market manipulation by a handful of producers. As the bulk of CSEs mined and going through mineral processing plants are currently sent to waste and not recovered, this research program pursues the two following specific objectives: 1.To document CSE behaviour in mineral processing facilities and share the data using an open database accessible to researchers and professionals. 2.To test concentration and extraction methods applicable to low-grade CSE co-recovery. Part 1 involves collecting data publicly accessible and industry-provided data to quantify key aspects of CSE distribution in mineral processing operations including grades, mineral phases, and particle sizes. Samples from two active mineral processing plants will be analyzed to identify streams where the CSE co-recovery potential is highest. Part 2 of the program will begin by testing conventional processes for CSE minerals separation based on their properties (magnetic susceptibility, specific gravity and surface properties). These properties will then be exploited further by developing novel approaches aimed at performing CSE separation within or alongside existing process equipment. These will be explored by laboratory-scale tests at UQAT using previously collected CSE-bearing samples. This program will be the first to actively track and document the fate of CSEs for many of which little to no recovery studies are found, an important contribution to the fields of mineralogy, mineral processing and natural resource exploitation. The investigation into combined mineral recovery processes could result in a new generation of co-processes leading to better resource, equipment and energy utilization and, in turn, to more sustainable mining and processing. The open approach to documenting and sharing data on the presence of CSEs will foster collaborations between researchers and industrial partners, potentially resulting in improved supply for some CSEs. It will also provide data supporting Canadian policymakers making decisions about strategies for Canada to provide the CSEs the world needs to achieve the energy transition and other strategic goals.