Historic Victorian mines hold key to critical minerals challenge

A recent study of two historic phosphate mines in Victoria’s north and east has found elevated levels of vanadium and rhenium in rocks, along with low levels of rare earth elements – the critical minerals required for renewable energy applications in wind turbines and grid-scale batteries.

The report, entitled An evaluation of rare earth elements, phosphorous, vanadium and rhenium hosted in sediment starved stratigraphy in Victoria, form part of a series by the Geological Survey of Victoria (GSV) aimed at characterising some of the State’s known critical minerals occurrence.

The Phosphate Hill mine near Mansfield and the Romsey phosphate mine near Romsey were investigated, with these discoveries by Resources Victoria’s geoscientists potentially paving the way for re-mining of historical mines to access the critical minerals.

Samples were collected from legacy drill holes from the Phosphate Hill mine, held at the GSV Drill Core Library, which were drilled by the Mines Department of Victoria in 1972.

Field samples were collected from the Romsey Phosphate Mine and surrounding rocks.

Results from this study combined with an understanding of Victoria’s ancient marine environments point to other areas of the state that may have even greater potential for critical minerals in phosphate bearing rocks, in the south of the Melbourne geological zone.