Mining company BHP has signed an agreement with the researchers at the University of Leicester for the exploration of nickel and copper deposits.
The partnership is aimed at finding new areas for the discovery of metals, which are key to the growth of electric vehicles (EVs).
It will involve the University of Leicester, University of Western Australia (UWA) and Macquarie University researchers to explore four-dimensional first order controls on nickel mineral systems.
Under the two-year project called Craton Margin Exploration Targeting 4D, Dr David Holwell from University of Leicester and his team will work with BHP on nickel and copper exploration.
The international project team also includes Professor Marco Fiorentini and Dr Weronika Gorczyk from UWA and Professor Steven Foley from Macquarie University.
The BHP project team consists of Dr Libby Sharman and Dr Nicole Januszczak.
The collaborative research project is said to challenge scientists’ current understanding of the nickel mineral system, thereby helping to open new exploration search space for nickel across the world.
In a statement, Holwell said: “We are delighted to have agreed this partnership with BHP. It is particularly exciting to have the opportunity to apply some of our recent and ongoing research on nickel-copper-platinum group metal deposits directly to exploration targeting.
“We have a truly international and diverse team with complementary expertise and I am very excited to get started.”
The project and partnership with BHP is based on the recent work by the Leicester-UWA group, which focused on the processes involved in the sources and transport mechanisms of metals through the lithosphere in magmatic systems.
The work will be combined with novel advances in experimental petrology and tectonic modelling to focus on sweet spots, which witnessed a series of favourable processes through geological time.
Nickel is a crucial component in the lithium-ion battery cathodes, which are used in the manufacturing of EVs.
