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

From better geological models to emerging processing technologies, the Australian Critical Minerals R&D Hub and our three agency partners are bringing Australia closer to a sustainable, secure supply chain.

Why rare earth elements matter now more than ever 

Rare earth elements (REEs), essential for products like electric vehicles, wind turbines and other renewable technologies, are attracting attention as global demand increases. 

The rare earth metals market, worth more than USD$15b in 2023, is expected to continue strong growth in the decade ahead as more nations transition to cleaner energy systems. This global momentum highlights a key opportunity for Australia, with its vast mineral resources and world-class research expertise. 

Building on this opportunity, scientists from Australia’s Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), CSIRO and Geoscience Australia are working together on REEs under the banner of the Australian Critical Minerals R&D Hub to better understand how Australia can sustainably and cost effectively extract and process rare earths from clay-hosted deposits, a type of resource that could diversify and strengthen global supply chains. 

The work is part of the project Accelerating Development of Australia’s Rare Earth Resources.

Early research findings from the collaboration are already offering new insights into how Australia could become a leading supplier of the materials that power modern technologies and support a more sustainable future. 

Processing and Technology Readiness with Dr Karin Soldenhoff, ANSTO 

ANSTO’s role is pivotal in translating these promising rare earth deposits to rare earth products using viable processing flowsheets. With advanced pilot plants and decades of metallurgical expertise, ANSTO bridges the gap between laboratory discovery and industrial development. 

ANSTO has benchmarked ‘conventional’ processing techniques and made significant progress in developing several novel advanced separation flowsheets, which will allow industry to assess the best process option suitable for their feed material. 

“At the end of the day, we start with the rare earths available in solution to be recovered, and the impurities that come along for the ride,” ANSTO Minerals Principal Consultant Dr Soldenhoff said. 

“There is no ‘one size fits all’ flowsheet that address all the challenges, but we have tested several novel approaches paying particular attention to reducing overall operating costs. These flowsheets will offer scalable pathways for separating and purifying rare earth elements to commercial-grade specifications.”. 

Another significant output of the project will be the construction of a purpose-built pilot plant for processing low grade ores from Australian deposits at ANSTO’s Lucas Heights site in Sydney. This facility is due to be operational at the conclusion of the funding for the project in Q2 2026.  

“The combined process know-how and testing facilities particularly aimed at clay hosted rare earths projects will significantly reduce the development time as well as the technical and economic risk for companies looking to progress beyond exploration and into processing, providing clear, tested routes to value-added products suitable for downstream applications,” Dr Soldenhoff said.  

Data to Drive Exploration with Dr Jessica Walsh, Geoscience Australia  

Geoscience Australia is focussed on national-scale REE mineral potential assessments.

“Mineral systems are defined as all geological processes that control the generation and preservation of mineral deposits at the global-to-deposit scale, modelled using components,” Geoscience Australia geoscientist Dr Jessica Walsh said.

Geoscience Australia has conducted an extensive national review and assessment of clay hosted REE deposit types and is currently developing mineral systems models and prospective mapping for these resources.

“Overall, the mineral potential models will aim to map where important processes overlap, suggesting favourable mineralisation conditions,” Dr Walsh said

“This will significantly reduce the search space, saving both time and costs associated with uncovering clay-hosted REE.”

The cross-agency collaboration under the Australian Critical Minerals R&D Hub is then helping with the translation of outcomes and results from one output into another.

“Understanding mineral systems at a national scale is very important, but it’s just one aspect,” Dr Walsh said. 

“Applying that knowledge and digging in deep is where CSIRO’s expertise lies and is an area they are executing exceptionally well.” 

New Geological Insights from Dr Mark Pearce, CSIRO 

CSIRO Research Director Dr Mark Pearce and the CSIRO team are examining the geological variability of clay-hosted REE deposits. The results of their analysis will inform both Geoscience Australia’s assessment and ANSTO’s work developing novel processing technologies for these deposits.

“The main goals of our research are to understand how clay-hosted REE deposits form and what the mineralogy and deportment of REEs is within those minerals,” Dr Pearce said. 

The team is creating workflows that will help industry find more of these deposits and identify key criteria that could be used to find deposits that are going to be readily processed using ANSTO technology. 

By creating practical workflows that translate cutting-edge research into on-ground exploration tools, CSIRO is helping industry better locate, address and develop rare earth element resources. 

“Our case study testing sites are central to unlocking Australia’s rare earth potential,” Dr Pearce said. 

“By studying clay-hosted systems and the rare earth-bearing rocks around them, we’re building a much clearer picture of how these minerals occur, how they behave in the regolith and what characteristics are most relevant to economic extraction. 

“These sites across Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory allow us to test new exploration tools, refine our mineral systems models and develop workflows that can be directly applied by industry to accelerate discovery and reduce risk.”  

This not only reduces exploration risk but also accelerates Australia’s ability to bring new critical minerals projects online. These workflows are a bridge between research excellence and economic opportunity.