SoS RARE gets underway!
SoS RARE is go! The website is live, the team are ready, postdocs and PhDs are being recruited and everything is in place.
The project started on the 21 May 2015 with 25 members of the group attending the kick-off meeting at Sheffield. Attendees included geologists, mineralogists, metallurgists, computational modellers and microbiologists, representing the wide range of expertise involved in the consortium. Participants included representatives from industry as well as academics, PhD students, postdoctoral researchers and overseas collaborators. Together, we are working on five work packages, covering the areas identified in several catalyst grant meetings as being important to the supply chain of the critical REE. These include:
- the fundamental geological controls on conventional REE deposits, comprising carbonatites and alkali rocks
- the geological and environmental conditions leading to the formation of ion adsorption deposits
- metallurgy and processing of conventional REE deposits
- new methods for REE extraction in easily leachable deposits
- coordination and overview, including responsible sourcing of REE
Each of these is led by a work package leader: Bruce Yardley, Martin Smith, Animesh Jha, Barbara Palumbo-Roe and Frances Wall, respectively.
At the meeting we started planning upcoming fieldwork (in Namibia, China and Madagascar), lab work, and computational modelling. This blog will be guest written by different members of the research team, covering articles from each of the work packages. Topics will include updates on field studies, conferences, and lab work as well as details on publications released by the group. Stay tuned to our Twitter account (@SoSRare) for regular updates.
Sam Broom-Fendley 21 May 2015
