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2023 PESA WEBINAR SERIES: Rare Earth Elements: Critical Ingredients for the Global Renewable Energy Transition
Tuesday, 4 April, 2023 @ 11:00 am - 12:00 pm (Australia/Perth time)
Free – $10.00
Guest Speaker(s): Carl Spandler (Australian Critical Minerals Research Centre - University of Adelaide)
Carl Spandler is Associate Professor in the Department of Earth Sciences, and Director of the Australian Critical Minerals Research Centre at the University of Adelaide, the first research centre of its kind in Australia, and one of only a few worldwide. Spandler applies geochemistry and petrology to investigate a range of Earth science phenomena, from the evolution of the Earth’s mantle and crust, plate tectonic processes and continent formation, to the formation of metalliferous ore deposits. His current research focus is on understanding the origin and evolution of critical mineral orebodies, with the goal of aiding exploration for discovery of new mineral resources.
Kindly supported by Rock Flow dynamics 
This live webinar will take place at:
11am – Perth
12.30pm – Darwin, Adelaide
1pm – Brisbane, Canberra, Hobart, Melbourne, Sydney
Use the calendar link on this page to add this event in to your own calendar at the correct local time for your location.
Tickets are free for members (please log in to see this) and $10 for non members.
Please buy your tickets and immediately follow the link in the ticket e-mail (not the calendar invite or this webpage, which is just generic and not event specific) to set up your registration with the webinar software well in advance of the time of the talk. Once registered with the webinar software you will receive a reminder e-mail 1 hour beforehand.
Rare Earth Elements: Critical Ingredients for the Global Renewable Energy Transition
Presented by Carl Spandler (University of Adelaide)
Abstract
The surging global embrace of high-tech applications and clean energy is accelerating demand for the critical metals that enable these applications. Forty years ago, use of metals such as the rare earth elements were limited to specialist military and industrial applications, whereas today they comprise essential components of electric vehicles, high-powered magnets used in energy generation, and modern computer/ telecommunication systems.
Presently, the world’s supply of rare earth elements is dominated by China, which represents a significant geopolitical risk to the western world. This risk of supply of critical metals is a foremost challenge facing progress of modern society and climate change mitigation.
This talk will briefly review the current status of rare earth element uses, supply and demand, and then will outline the geological conditions required to form rare earth element orebodies in the Earth’s crust. Fortunately, Australia has highly prospective geology for rare earth element orebodies and, hence, has the potential to become a major global supplier of critical metals into the future.
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