User:Earth Resources Centre St Andrews

There is increasing interest in the origin and distribution of Earth resources that are central to the development of hi-tech and green technologies and national security.

Modern society is dependent on the economically feasible and environmentally sound utilisation of natural materials. Energy resources, such as oil and gas, garner wide emphasis. Yet non-energy Earth resources are integral to products ranging from the novel to the everyday. Many require rare geological conditions to form, hence they are eagerly sought after and exploration models are in their infancy.

The Earth Resources Centre St Andrews (ERCSA)is devoted to the study of the processes that form critical natural resources [e.g REE, Ta, Nb], and the minerals and rocks that host them. Key targets include developing integrated geological and geophysical research programmes to gain deeper knowledge of the conditions by which such resources are concentrated and distributed. ERCSA develops new models for the exploration of these resources, designs novel applications for emerging technologies requiring rare minerals, and provides training for resource and exploration geologists.

The Centre is multidisciplinary and collaborative, engaging geologists, environmental scientists, material scientists, chemists and social scientists. It coordinates three interlinked initiatives:

- novel research into the processes that form critical natural resources and the geological   settings that house them, with the aim of developing new models for their formation and for resource exploration and prediction

- collaborations to investigate novel applications of mineralogy and chemistry for new materials for emerging green technologies, and new methods for re-use and recycling

- close links with economists and political scientists to inform on the potential impacts of resource criticality driven by supply and demand issues, and provide guidance for policy making

There is growing recognition that the availability of specific natural materials is integral to national security and economic well being. Global geo-political changes, realigning of world economies and the growing need for resources by the growth of developing countries are influencing the worldwide supply and demand of natural resources. The projected short-term availability of some natural materials in conjunction with the large number of new green technologies that rely on rare raw materials, combined with certain industrial oligopolies and source countries that are politically unstable, present challenges to achieving national critical resource security.

ERCSA is fostering strong linkages between research groups in geology, inorganic chemistry and materials science, and is one of the few places worldwide having expertise in rare earth elements and studying the luminescence properties of natural minerals and design of novel luminescent materials with application for LEDs. The Centre is the vehicle by which to undertake collaborative novel research and applied science to address these complex and interrelated issues, and solve questions of importance to industry and society.