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November 2025

Welcome from Hub Manager Lucy O'Connor

Welcome to the November edition of the Australian Critical Minerals R&D Hub newsletter.

It's been a dynamic few months filled with interstate and international travel, events and webinars, meetings, briefings and conferences, and important research happening in our projects.

In this edition, the Hub's International Engagement Manager Carla Gonzalez Zlatar shares insights from her participation in the Franco-Australian Center for Energy Transition (FACET) Symposium, we take an exclusive look behind the scenes of our recent International Study Tour in Western Australia, and we reflect on a successful inaugural Korea-Australia Critical Minerals Forum, held in Western Australia and virtually on 23 October.

We also celebrate the first successful recipients of the Hub's International Scholarships, funded by the Department of Industry, Science and Resources.

On Hub-funded research projects, we have several feature articles to share.

First, we explore the latest in purity analysis with CSIRO's Dr Tommaso Tacchetto who works on the High purity alumina (HPA) project. We also share updates from Advancing the Development of Australia's Rare Earth Resources (ADARER), with contributions from research leads CSIRO's Dr Mark Pearce, Geoscience Australia's Dr Jessica Walsh and ANSTO's Dr Karin Soldenhoff. Finally, we celebrate a big milestone for the High Purity Silica (HPS) project with the release of the complete bulk rock geochemical results from the HPS mineral potential study.

Lastly, we look back at the Hub's recent participation at IMARC in Sydney, share details on how to register for our upcoming science webinar on High purity alumina and provide you with the recording of our first science webinar on Metal to Market: Advancing Metallisation for Australia's future in case you missed out on the live viewing.

It's a big edition and a lot to get through – let's dig in.

Best,
Lucy O'Connor
Hub Manager

Hub international engagement

Insights from abroad: Strengthening critical minerals collaboration with France

The Hub’s International Engagement Manager, Carla Gonzalez Zlatar, recently visited France alongside 2 CSIRO research scientists to explore new research partnerships and showcase Australia’s capabilities in critical minerals R&D. The trip included meetings with IFP Energies Nouvelles, participation in the FACET Symposium in Grenoble, and visits to leading research facilities at CEA and the University of Grenoble Alps (UGA).

Read more

Republic of Korea-Australia Critical Minerals Forum 2025 strengthens global research collaboration

Australia and Korea unite to advance lithium innovation

A direct outcome of the Hub’s recent outbound delegation to Korea was the creation of the inaugural Korea-Australia lithium forum, which took place in Perth and online on 23 October. The forum was expertly coordinated by CSIRO’s Karl Bunney, alongside Dr. Rex Lee from POSCO Group and enabled researchers, industry and university to come together to explore new opportunities for collaboration on lithium technologies vital to the global energy transition.

A look back at the International Study Tour

In September, the Hub hosted an international study tour of 29 researchers from 9 countries. Peek behind the curtain at what participants got up to and learned during their week in WA. 

Congratulating our first Hub Scholarship recipients

We are delighted to announce and congratulate the first recipients of the R&D Hub International Scholarship, funded by the Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DISR).

Scholars will travel overseas to an approved country to undertake research or collaboration activities on critical minerals.

  • Dr Heta Lampinen, CSIRO
  • Dr Weiha Liu, CSIRO
  • Dr Yanlu Xing, CSIRO
  • Dr Yuan Mei, CSIRO
  • Dr Lequn Zhang, CSIRO
  • Dr Suzanne Neville, CSIRO
  • Dr Dongmei Liu, CSIRO
  • Dr Jamie Laird, CSIRO
  • Dr Yusuf Ferdosi, University of South Australia
  • Hamid Arandiyan, RMIT University
  • Dr Vlado Vivoda, Strategic Minerals Advisory & Research
  • Dr Helena Wang, The University of Melbourne

Find out more about the Scholarship Program

Hub project updates

Advancing high-purity materials research

CSIRO researcher Dr Tommaso Tacchetto is leading innovative work under the Hub to develop a comprehensive roadmap of analytical methods for high-purity alumina (HPA). The research will help to drive more consistent and accurate purity testing critical to advancing Australia’s high-value materials capabilities. Read the full article to learn how this work is supporting innovation in purity analysis, and don’t miss the upcoming webinar featuring Dr Tacchetto on 12 November.

National High Purity Silica sampling campaign: Whole rock geochemistry data release

After an extensive national sampling campaign of quartz-bearing rocks, Geoscience Australia have now released the complete bulk rock geochemical results from 449 different samples as part of the high purity silica mineral potential study.

From potential to production: How Australia’s rare earth research is powering forward

Accelerating Development of Australia’s Rare Earth Resources

Rare earth elements are critical to the technologies that will power our future, from clean energy to advanced manufacturing. Our latest article explores why these minerals matter now more than ever and highlights the groundbreaking work underway through the R&D Hub Accelerating Development of Australia’s Rare Earth Resources project, led by ANSTO with contributions from Geoscience Australia and CSIRO. Read the article on the Hub website to learn how researchers like Dr Mark Pearce, Dr Jessica Walsh and Dr Karin Soldenhoff are helping turn Australia’s rare earth potential into production reality.

IMARC 2025: Showcasing collaboration and innovation in critical minerals

Hub sponsored IMARC panel
Hub sponsored IMARC panel

The Critical Minerals R&D Hub team were proud to join the Australian Federal Government booth alongside ANSTO, CSIRO and Geoscience Australia at IMARC.

The booth provided valuable networking and opportunities to discuss current Hub-funded research, particularly through the Booth Talks' series, which saw High Purity Quartz and High Purity Silica take the spotlight.

The Hub also sponsored an all-female research panel on High purity, high impact: Women in research shaping Australia's high-purity materials landscape, moderated by:

  • Dr Louise Fisher (CSIRO) featuring panellists:
  • Nicole McNamara (ANSTO)
  • Dr Kristy Guerin (Geoscience Australia)
  • Dr Zsanett Pinter (CSIRO)

IMARC also provided a valuable platform for the Hub to deepen international collaboration, with representatives attending the Australia-EU and Australia-France bilateral meetings and convening the Australia-France R&D Working Group.

These discussions reinforced shared priorities across critical minerals research and innovation. The Hub looks forward to continuing to build on these connections in November at EU Raw Materials Week.

How pure is pure? The future of purity testing in Australia

Register for our free science webinar

Join our free webinar on Wednesday, 12 November at 11 am AEST featuring presentations from a panel made up of research, university and industry leaders on purity analysis, with an opportunity for audience Q&A.

In case you missed it...

Our recent Metal to Market: Advancing Metallisation for Australia's Critical Minerals Future webinar brought together leading experts from research and industry to explore Australia's growing capabilities in metallisation. The session covered key developments, challenges and opportunities in the sector.

Access the webinar