An interdisciplinary research team at UNSW Sydney has developed an interactive modelling platform to help industry, governments and investors assess the economic, environmental and strategic challenges facing critical minerals supply chains.
As countries race to secure the critical minerals needed for electric vehicles, renewable energy and advanced manufacturing, decisions about how these minerals are mined, processed and supplied are becoming increasingly complex.
Each critical mineral presents different challenges, across the entire value chain, from extraction and ore characteristics to processing technologies, energy requirements, market conditions and supply-chain concentration.
Extraction challenges may include deposit geology, ore grade, depth, mining methods and site-specific conditions, all of which influence costs, resource recovery and environmental impacts.
As a result, strategies that improve the competitiveness or environmental performance of one mineral may not deliver the same benefits for another.
At the same time, critical minerals supply chains are increasingly expected to be cost-competitive, low-carbon, resilient and secure.
This is changing how mineral resources are valued, with greater attention being paid to where processing takes place, which technologies are used and how supply chains are organised to balance costs, emissions and supply security.
For Australia, these decisions are particularly relevant. The country's substantial mineral resources and renewable energy potential, together with growing investment under the Future Made in Australia agenda, present opportunities to expand domestic processing and manufacturing.
However, the competitiveness of these investments will depend on factors such as energy costs, processing technologies, infrastructure and access to international markets.
With major projects requiring substantial upfront capital and operating over several decades, decisions made today will influence Australia's position in global critical mineral supply chains well into the future.
The Green Minerals Platform , developed by researchers at UNSW Sydney, brings together advanced modelling tools and interdisciplinary research to help industry, governments and investors evaluate critical mineral supply chains and make more informed decisions about technology, investment and decarbonisation.
Supply-chain designs
The platform allows users to examine different supply-chain designs and geographic configurations, considering factors such as ore quality, processing locations, technology choices, energy sources and transport routes.
Using structured inputs across different stages of the value chain, users can assess production costs, carbon emissions and the relative attractiveness of alternative pathways under different technical, economic and policy conditions.
The Green Minerals Platform is being developed by an interdisciplinary research team at UNSW Sydney, led by Scientia Associate Professor Rahman Daiyan from the School of Mineral and Energy Resources Engineering and supported by PhD, postdoctoral fellows and thesis students: Rasmeet Singh (platform designer and working in Cu and Li supply chains), Dr Muhammad Haider Ali Khan and Xavier Klee (working with green iron), Dyah Purboyo , (rare earth oxides); and Charlie Lentfer (domestic gallium recovery).
The initiative also benefits from the involvement of Professor Iain MacGill , Professor Ismet Canbulat and Professor Serkan Saydam , bringing together broader academic perspectives to support the platform's research direction, interdisciplinary collaboration and industry applications.
The research collates expertise across mineral processing, energy systems, techno-economic modelling and supply-chain assessment. By combining specialised research across different mineral and metal value chains within a shared modelling framework, the team aims to develop practical tools that can help industry and governments evaluate emerging technologies, investment opportunities and pathways for reducing emissions.
A/Prof. Daiyan says addressing the challenges facing critical minerals supply chains requires collaboration across research disciplines, industry and government.
"Critical minerals supply chains involve complex decisions about technologies, energy systems, processing locations and market conditions. By bringing together expertise from different disciplines, we can develop tools that help industry and governments better understand these challenges," he says.
"What we are developing is a platform that brings together expertise from across our research teams and translates that knowledge into practical tools. We want to help industry and governments compare different options, understand the trade-offs and make decisions based on sound technical and economic analysis."
Decision support
The platform functions as a decision-support tool, allowing users to adjust technical and economic assumptions and examine how different choices affect production costs, emissions and supply-chain competitiveness across mineral extraction, processing and transportation.
For example, users can examine how integrating renewable electricity and other low-emissions technologies across copper and lithium supply chains affects production costs and carbon emissions.
They can also explore how carbon pricing, trade policies, government incentives and geopolitical factors influence the competitiveness of different supply-chain pathways.
The platform also allows users to compare alternative technologies, energy sources and policy settings using consistent, transparent assumptions. While electrification may be well suited to one mining operation, another may require different technologies because of its location, access to energy or operating conditions.
Understanding these differences can help explain why a single technological approach may not be suitable across an entire industry.
The platform is designed to support a range of users, including mining companies evaluating new technologies, investors assessing project risks, governments considering policy options and researchers studying sustainable resource development.
"We have had encouraging discussions with industry organisations about how these tools could be applied to practical projects, and we see opportunities to develop these collaborations further," A/Prof. Daiyan says.
"Different companies and projects face different technical, economic and environmental challenges. Our aim is to work with partners to adapt these modelling frameworks to their needs, whether that involves assessing emerging technologies, comparing processing pathways or identifying opportunities to improve competitiveness and reduce emissions."
Policy development
Beyond its applications for industry, the team sees opportunities for the platform to support government policy development and broader discussions about Australia's critical minerals future.
As investment in domestic processing and emerging technologies grows, consistent techno-economic and environmental assessments can help inform policy choices, identify opportunities for industry development and evaluate the implications of different investment strategies.
A/Prof. Daiyan believes the platform's longer-term potential lies in connecting university research with the practical challenges faced by the mining industry.
"Without public questioning and public debate, this industry won't move forward," he says.
"Our research teams bring together different areas of expertise, and there is considerable opportunity to translate that knowledge into tools that can support practical decisions across the mining sector," he says.
"We see the platform as something that can continue to develop through collaboration. By working with industry and government partners, we can better understand their needs and adapt our modelling approaches to help address the technical, economic and environmental challenges they face."
