Mining is an important cornerstone of Australia’s economy and has traditionally been based on exporting bulk commodities such as iron ore, coal and natural gas. However, the demand for high-value critical metals due to their ever-increasing presence in modern technology devices is driving a high demand for these minerals. Mineral exploration is the key to sustainable mining, providing options to conduct mining in the least harmful locations.
We are embarking on a pilot project in collaboration with biochemists and geologists to identify novel REE-binding proteins that can be used to extract these high value metals from tailings run-off using protein expression and metagenomic techniques.
Additionally, we aim to identify proteins that specifically bind heavy metals using these same techniques for future applications in the bioremediation of contaminated sites. Our studies mainly focus on finding these proteins in tailings from the abandoned Mary Kathleen uranium mine near Mount Isa (Queensland) that are high in solubilised REEs and toxic heavy metals.
- Project team: Paul Evans, Phil Hugenholtz
- Collaborators: Gary Schenk, Marc Morris, Pallav Joshi, Alice Clark, Gordon Southam, David Owen, Pie Huda
