Critical minerals are a collection of metal and non-metal commodities considered essential for economic and industrial development, and for which there are significant concerns around future supply due to resource scarcity or geopolitical factors.
Critical minerals are essential for computing, high tech manufacturing, renewable energy generation and storage, transport, telecommunications and defence technologies. Their importance arises from their unique catalytic, metallurgical, nuclear, electrical, magnetic and/or luminescent properties which will play an important part in global decarbonisation.
Whilst global critical mineral demand is growing, the occurrence of critical minerals in South Australia, ranging from graphite to nickel, rare earths, magnesite and platinum group elements amongst many others, are not uniformly understood. The Critical Minerals South Australia (CMSA) project will assess the potential for these elements within mineral deposits, as part of traditional metallic exploration programs.
Project summary
CMSA focuses on advancing knowledge to support critical minerals discovery and exploration in South Australia. This project complements the Thinking Critical South Australia global competition run by the Department for Energy and Mining which aimed to support the development of a critical minerals supply chain in the state.
CMSA seeks to:
- Expand understanding of South Australia’s critical mineral potential
- Identify critical mineral strategy based on an analysis of the economic risk and supply chain, and sovereign risks associated with critical mineral industry
This will be achieved by:
- Stocktaking of mineralisation styles that produce economic grades of key critical minerals via:
- review and compilation of mineralisation styles for the defined critical minerals using South Australian Drill Core Library samples and historic records
- re-sampling and re-analysis of existing drill core occurrences from all major projects in the state's project pipeline, noting that, historically, many would not have tested for critical mineral content or indicators.
- Compiling and publishing new pre-competitive critical mineral geoscience data and information to increase industry and investor understanding of potential.
- Examining the potential for tailings, stockpiles and waste dumps from historic mining operations to host critical mineral content in partnership with University of Queensland, Mine Waste Transformation through Characterisation (MIWATCH).
- Undertaking a detailed economic study to qualify state, national and international drivers, which will influence a material shift to establishing a critical minerals sector and value chain in South Australia, from mining to processing and manufacture.
Publications and related links
Beryllium (PDF 5.6 MB)
Cobalt (PDF 8.6 MB)
Graphite (PDF 7 MB)
High purity alumina (PDF 2.7 MB)
Lithium (PDF 8.2 MB)
Magnesium (PDF 7.3 MB)
Manganese (PDF 9.3 MB)
Rare Earth Elements (PDF 5.5 MB)
Titanium (PDF 7.55 MB)
Vanadium (PDF 7 MB)
Sediment-hosted copper deposits of the Mount Gunson district
Rare earth element (REE) potential of the Curnamona Province, South Australia
Pyrite chemistry and its value as an exploration tool on the Stuart Shelf
Critical minerals and mine waste dashboards
Two interactive dashboards delivering information on South Australia’s critical mineral potential both in the ground and now on the surface as mine waste.
Videos and presentations
Video series
The CMSA team have put together a range of videos that give an overview of the project, talk through various stages and components, as well as provide insights into South Australia’s critical minerals and geological potential.
You can view the videos below:
- Video 1: Introduction to the project
- Video 2: Stocktake of SA’s critical mineral prospectivity
- Video 3: Reassessing SA’s deposits for critical minerals
- Video 4: Evaluating SA’s Rare Earth Elements potential
- Video 5: Where are SA's carbonatites?
- Video 6: Using geochronology to explore SA’s Lithium potential
- Video 7: Critical minerals prospectivity of the Musgraves Province in SA
- Video 8: Assessing SA’s mine waste for its critical minerals
Discovery Day 2024 presentations
View Senior Geologist, Mitchell Bockman's presentation on Carbonatites:
View Manager, Mineral Systems & Resources, Carmen Krapf's presentation on Magnesium and Manganese:
- Slides "Magnesium and Manganese opportunities in South Australia for facilitating the increasing global Critical Minerals demand (PDF, 14.7 MB)
- Video of the presentation
Project diary
July 2024
The CMSA project team has released the Secondary prospectivity of South Australia’s mine waste: Brukunga in collaboration with University of Queensland’s Sustainable Mineral Institute.
This study sampled waste rock, tailings and processing waste (sludge) at the Brukunga mine and presents the geochemical and mineralogical characterisation of the samples in relation to their critical metal potential.
June 2024
The South Australian Centre for Economic Studies from the University of Adelaide recently investigated the state’s economic opportunities across the critical minerals supply chain. The study was commissioned by DEM, with a range of critical minerals identified as having the greatest development potential for South Australia:
- Cobalt
- Graphite
- Magnesium
- Manganese
- Rare-earth elements
- Copper
The study and report makes recommendations based on commodity growth potential, market trends and geological potential to identify and inform the economic opportunities for South Australia in the mining, processing, and manufacturing of critical minerals. The critical minerals identified as having the greatest potential were deemed to have large and well-established markets, strong future growth, and high to moderate geological potential.
January 2024
Laura Jackson presented Critical metal potential of South Australia's mine waste in poster format at the Sustainable Minerals Institute Australian Mine Waste Symposium summarising the findings of the state-wide mine waste review, as well as first insights from recent sampling at Brukunga, Mount Gunson and Port Pirie.
November 2023
Two interactive dashboards were implemented, enabling access to pre-competitive critical mineral geoscience data and information. The self-service data visualisations will support industry and investors to understand South Australia's critical mineral potential.
Dr Carmen Krapf presented 26 at a time: Uncovering the potential of critical minerals in South Australia at the AusImm Critical Minerals Conference. The presentation provided an overview of critical minerals in South Australia and the project overall.
June 2023
The team are starting work on three new projects:
- Stocktaking of mineralisation styles that produce economic grades of key critical minerals
- Evaluation of South Australia’s REE mineral potential
- Evaluation of South Australia’s lithium mineral potential
More details will be posted as these projects progress.
Acting Director of the Geological Survey, Dr Bronwyn Camac, has also spoken at the Australian Critical Minerals Conference on Examining Government support for investment in Critical Minerals.
Download the presentation: Examining government support for investment in critical minerals
May 2023
The inaugural CRITCON conference took place in Adelaide with Acting Director of the Geological Survey, Dr Bronwyn Camac, presenting Unravelling South Australia’s critical mineral potential.
Download the presentation: Unravelling South Australia's critical mineral potential in South Australia
Two posters by GSSA team members were also on display.
- Where are South Australia's carbonites?
Dr Mitchell Bockmann suggests that the absence of carbonatites in South Australia may be due to our limited ability to detect or identify them. - Unravelling South Australia's critical mineral pegmatites
Georgina Gordon brought archived pegmatite samples back into the light, making them and their secrets digitally available.
The conference abstract volume is also available for download: CRITON 2023 - Discovery, characterisation and processing of critical minerals: Abstract volume
The CMSA project team has released the Secondary prospectivity of South Australia’s mine waste: review in collaboration with University of Queensland’s Sustainable Mineral Institute.
This study analysed mine waste at around 1,000 historical mine sites and found potential for a number to contain an accumulation of critical minerals suitable for reprocessing.
Download the review: Secondary prospectivity of South Australia’s mine waste: review
Detecting minerals in mine waste adds a new dimension to exploration and mining in South Australia, enabling tailings and mine waste to be essentially ‘recycled’ as a way of ensuring valuable minerals already mined are not overlooked.
The next stage of the project is to sample some of the sites identified in the report to test the theories. Lexi Kng and Laura Jackson recently visited Brukunga to begin sampling.
Read the blog post: MIWATCH leaves behind their first footprint in South Australia
April 2023
At Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada Convention 2023 (PDAC), the GSSA’s Dr Bronwyn Camac gave a presentation on critical minerals in South Australia.
Download the presentation: Critical minerals in South Australia
December 2022
At Discovery Day 2022 the GSSA’s Dr Bronwyn Camac gave an update on the Critical Minerals SA project and the GSSA’s plans for the future in this area.
September 2022
The Geological Survey of South Australia’s Director, Rohan Cobcroft, gave a presentation to AusIMM on South Australia's critical minerals strategy for the future.
August 2022
The mine waste review has commenced, led by lead researcher Dr Laura Jackson, MIWATCH, University of Queensland.
