Grant to boost critical minerals sector

The federal government will provide a $1.9 million boost to Australia’s critical mineral capabilities via a grant for Harrison SPARC (Strategic Projects and Advanced Research Centre), the research and development arm of the Harrison Group.

As part of the $50 million Critical Minerals Development Program designed to accelerate the development of the country’s critical minerals sector, the grant will enable Harrison SPARC to expand chemical manufacturing capabilities.

Harrison Group Director Julie Harrison said the $1.9 million injection will help fast-track a $3.91 million research and manufacturing project at the company’s HQ in Brookvale, NSW and testing in Kalgoorlie, WA. It is set to improve the refining efficiency and extraction yield of critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, neodymium and vanadium.

Australia is one of the largest natural reserves of rare earth elements and is the largest supplier of lithium, producing nearly 50% global lithium supply.

“We know Australia has the know-how, the ambition and the ability to become serious value-add players in the critical minerals sector. This injection of funds will help The Harrison Group on its road to helping ensure Australia is at the forefront of this push,” Harrison said.

Already underway in collaboration with Curtin University’s WA School of Mines, Minerals, Energy and Chemical Engineering (WASM), the commercially sensitive project is set to be completed by March 2025.

Dr Tony Granville, lead researcher for the grant and Harrison SPARC Innovation Manager, said the project is forecast to improve both the mining industry’s output of critical minerals and the sustainability of the sector.

“We believe what we are working on will make mining for critical minerals more sustainable because it will allow greater output with the same input.”

Calling it a potential game changer in the extraction of critical minerals, Granville said the project has the potential to provide $400 million of lithium to the Australian market annually.

“The current rate of extraction of lithium in mining is roughly 85% per tonnage of spodumene ore. We believe our project would bump that figure up to 95%,” he said.

Image credit: iStock.com/JacobH