Meet Sandra Occhipinti: Solving the Earth’s ‘jigsaw’ to locate critical minerals

Sandra's work in critical minerals stems from her fascination with solving puzzles – and it's made her a role model for women in geology.

Lonsdaleite diamonds found in space

A team of researchers have discovered rare hexagonal-structured diamonds formed in space from a destroyed dwarf planet.

Powering the future: critical minerals explained

Critical minerals are not just buzz words. They are essential for modern life and supply chains could be disrupted. We dig into Australia's critical minerals list and explain why.

Vale Joy Bear: remembering the scientist behind petrichor

Isabel 'Joy' Bear passed away on 8 April 2021. We celebrate her contributions to our organisation and science, including describing petrichor.

The lithium-ion waste problem hiding in your pocket

Our researchers are creating sustainable technologies to reduce lithium-ion waste from everyday technology.

Heavy metals rock termite mounds

Zinc isotopes found in manganese crust samples of soils and termite mounds are helping mineral explorers find hidden deposits of critical metals below the surface.

Classic rock songs: Music you can rock out to

We've cobbled together a playlist of rock anthems to celebrate our mineral resources research. Classic rock, heavy rock, sedimentary rock - we've got it all!

Chemical romance: our sparkling superstar of STEM

Edible experiments, explosions and splat paintings. Chemistry has taken Dr Laura Kuhar from diamond mines back to the classroom, where she shares her love of science.

Solving the mystery of the Pilbara gold

We’ve starting to unravel the mystery of the source of the Pilbara gold nuggets whose unusual shape and distribution baffled explorers in the region.

Virtual library gets straight to the core

Exploring for critical metals is being made more efficient and less impactful on the environment thanks to a virtual library crammed with information on Australia’s mineralogy.

Green power: the future of Aussie graphite

Demand for lithium-ion batteries is increasing demand for minerals, like graphite, to make them. Research to develop a more environmentally-friendly process could see battery-grade graphite produced in Australia.

Lithium, the metal of the decade

What's powering your phone? It’s most likely a lithium ion battery. Australia is the world's largest producer of lithium, and the global demand is growing. We're working to supercharge our research in lithium exploration and production.