Project partners

Professor Frances Wall

I am the project coordinator, in charge of making sure that everyone works together to produce the project deliverables. My background is in carbonatites and their ore deposits (including especially now-critical metals), working first at the Natural History Museum, London and then at Camborne School of Mines.

I think this is undoubtedly the largest funded project on carbonatites and associated rocks for a long time, maybe ever, and I am really looking forward to the mix of long standing expertise, not only in the project, but also, via our 'expert councils', from industry partners and new post-doctoral researchers. We have the opportunity to make a real impact in producing new models for exploration of these important rocks.

Twitter: @FrancesWallCSM

Dr Kathryn Moore

I am the coordinator of the Expert Council activities for the HiTech AlkCarb project, in charge of making sure that the project team have access to the most appropriate expertise at the right times. I have many years of research experience in experimental, numerical and petrological modelling of carbonatites, alkaline rocks and their mantle sources. I now work as a lecturer in Critical and Green Technology Metals at the Camborne School of Mines.

Dr Holly Elliott

My interests particularly involve mineralisation related to volcanic and magmatic activity. I have recently completed a PhD at Southampton University and in collaboration with Teck Ireland Ltd, studying Pb-Zn mineralisation associated with diatremes in Ireland. My main role within HiTech AlkCarb will be researching fenite associated with carbonatites.

Twitter: @DrHollyElliott

Dr Kate Taylor Smith

I am the project manager for HiTech AlkCarb, helping to ensure the project runs smoothly and looking after the budget. My background is in physical volcanology, geomorphology and sedimentology, especially in relation to hazard and risk associated with Icelandic volcanoes, and I have interests in geoscience communication. Prior to working with HiTech AlkCarb I worked as a Lecturer in Physical Geography at the University of Exeter, and a Research Fellow at the Nordic Volcanological Institute, University of Iceland. I graduated with a PhD from University of Edinburgh in 2004. Applied geoscience research really interests me, so I am excited about the impact HiTech AlkCarb will make on critical raw materials in Europe.

Twitter: @tephrashard

Dr Kathryn Goodenough

I am a senior geologist at the British Geological Survey and have been working on alkaline rocks and carbonatites for over 20 years, studying localities from Greenland to Madagascar. In HiTech AlkCarb I will lead the geological science and geomodels work packages, coordinating research into specific scientific questions that will lead to improved geomodels for alkaline rocks and carbonatites

Twitter: @kmgoodenough

Eimear Deady

I am a minerals resource geologist with the British Geological Survey, working on critical metals research and mineral resources for development. I have previously carried out assessments of potential rare earth resources in southern Europe for the EURARE project, and in HiTech AlkCarb I will be contributing to research in the carbonatite complexes of Italy and Germany.

Twitter: @Geo_Eimear

Charlie Beard

I am a postdoc at BGS, working on the development of geomodels in HiTech AlkCarb. My previous research explores the interactions amongst minerals and melts, in particular the exchange of trace elements, and may be applied to better understand the processes that lead to enrichment of rare metals, such as the rare earth elements. During my PhD, I experimentally calibrated element partitioning tools that will allow us to read the mineral record of relict melt compositions in alkaline rocks from Greenland and Canada to offer insight into the relative importance of magmatic and hydrothermal processes in the petrogenesis of these rare metal ore bodies. I have also worked with radiogenic isotopes to determine the source contributions to flood basalt magmatism, and hope to apply similar tools to alkaline systems to determine the origins of their rare metal endowment.

Website and logo developed by Claire Chetwyn-Allen and Gemma Nash.

Pete Siegfried

I have been applying specialised geological and geophysical techniques in the study and exploration of carbonatite-hosted industrial mineral deposits over the last 25 years. My knowledge, acquired through the investigation, exploration and resource evaluation of various critical mineral commodities, including REE, fluorite, apatite, vermiculite, zircon and scandium, brings vital industry experience to the HiTecAlkCarb Project.

Through my company I have consulted to a large number of mining, mineral trading and chemical companies. I have been responsible for the authorship of various NI 43–101 code compliant technical reports and am an independent Qualified Person (QP) and consulting geologist. I am a graduate of the University of Cape Town, and completed an MSc under the mentorship of the late John Moore.

Terratec Geophysical Services offers surface geophysical and borehole logging services worldwide. The main objectives are the acquisition, compilation, processing, analysis and interpretation of geophysical data. Terratec Geophysical Services executes these services for mineral exploration, groundwater/geothermal energy prospecting and geotechnical purposes. The company was founded in 1989 and consists of 35 geophysicists and geologists who are fluent in a great variety of languages with offices in Germany, Mali, Namibia and Bulgaria, as well as logistic bases in Austria, Sweden and Finland. Terratec Geophysical Services has comprehensive working experience in different countries and climates from Greenland to South Africa. Staff and geophysical systems have been optimised and adapted to harsh conditions in remote areas.

Klaus Brauch
Managing Director – Borehole, Consulting & Sales

Michael Lueke

Gregory Symons
Gregory Symons (M) founded the consulting and contracting geophysical company Gregory Symons Geophysics in 2002 providing surface geophysical services in Namibia, Africa as a whole and in Europe. He is also the managing member of the borehole logging contracting company Terratec Geophysical Services Namibia cc, supplying downhole geophysical services in Namibia and Southern Africa. He previously worked as a geophysicist with Poseidon Geophysics Namibia, Fugro Ground Geophysics and Fugro Airborne Surveys. He started his career as a geophysicist with Gold Fields South Africa and Gold Fields Namibia in South Africa, Namibia and South America active in mineral exploration. He has a BSc (Hons) from the University of the Witwatersrand. He is an active member of the Geological Society of Namibia having served as Chairman of this Society for two terms. He is a member of the SEG, ASEG and SAGA. He specializes in using Electro-Magnetics and Natural Source Audio Magneto-Tellurics as an exploration tool.

Michael Tauchnitz
Michael Tauchnitz (M) has 10 years of experience in international mineral exploration as exploration geophysicists. He has worked for Terratec Geophysical Services since 2005. He graduated from the Freiberg University of Mining and Technology in 2005 as Diplom Geophysiker. His key qualifications are: Geoelectrics (HIRIP), TDEM, Borehole EM, Magnetics, NSAMT, Radiometrics, 2D and 3D inversion of resistivity and chargeability data.

Professor Gregor Markl

I am professor and chair for Petrology and Mineral Resources at the Universität Tübingen (Germany), and have held the position since 2005. I have over 20 years of experience related to the petrology and geochemistry of hydrothermal ore deposits and peralkaline rocks, and REE systematics in various high and low temperature environments. I am the author of six books, have published more than 140 peer-reviewed articles, and am a member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, and I am on the review panels of the German National Science Foundation and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

Dr Michael Marks

I have 15 years of combined petrological, geochemical and experimental research experience relating to alkaline rocks, carbonatites and halogens. I was the principal investigator on several DFG (German Science Foundation)-funded research projects related to alkaline rocks and carbonatites and have published more than 30 articles related to this topic. I have organised two international scientific meetings on carbonatites and peralkaline rocks (PERALK and PERALK-CARB).

Dr Benjamin Walter

I will be working as a post-doctoral researcher on the HiTech AlkCarb project, focusing on the Kaiserstuhl natural laboratory. Prior to taking up this position, I studied in Tübingen for a diploma in mineralogy (2012) and for my PhD (2016).

Dr Jindrich Kynicky

I am the Head of the Department of Geology and Pedology at Mendel University in Brno. My background is in the study of critical metals in alkaline rocks and carbonatites, working in particular in China and Mongolia. I have supervised many students working in this field (including 11 PhD and 15 MSc students) and have been a co-organiser of three International Workshops on Critical Metals between 2012 and 2015. For HiTech AlkCarb I will lead the study of the Mongolian natural laboratory.

Dr Will Hutchison

I have studied volcanic and geothermal systems around the world and am passionate about integrating geophysical, geochemical and geological data sets to understand the fundamental processes that drive these systems, and how we can safely and sustainably develop the resources they offer. My PhD focused on active peralkaline volcanoes in the East African Rift, and in particular the processes that take place at the interface between the magmatic and hydrothermal reservoirs.

I'm now planning to investigate the "fossilized" equivalents of these peralkaline systems in Greenland's Gardar Province. The goal is to improve our understanding of volatile behaviour in the roof zones of peralkaline magma chambers, and hopefully draw parallels with the active volcanic systems I've studied previously.

Dr Adrian Finch

My research has sought to understand more fully the mechanisms by which rare metals, such as rare earth elements, become concentrated in alkaline magmas, and how late-stage post-crystallisation processes modify and mobilise elements. This work involves studies of the mobility of high field-strength elements such as rare earths, zirconium, hafnium, niobium and tantalum. I have consulted for a number of exploration geology companies interested in the petrology and petrogenesis of alkaline rocks and rare elements. I will contribute to HiTech AlkCarb by carrying out new geochemical studies in Greenland's Gardar province to understand how volatile elements in the roof zones of alkaline complexes can be used as exploration indicators for prospective rare earth deposits at depth.

Will Dawes

I am chief executive of Mkango Resources, which, over the last six years, has advanced the Songwe Hill rare earths project in Malawi from an early stage to a pre-feasibility study, announced November 2015. My prior experience encompasses mineral exploration and investment banking, and I am a graduate of Bristol University (BSc Geology) and the Royal School of Mines (MSc Mineral Exploration).

Twitter: @MkangoResources

Dr Emma Humphreys-Williams

I am an analytical chemist at the Natural History Museum, London. My PhD, from the University of Bristol, investigated the source of carbonate in carbonatitic volcanism, central Spain. I am interested in the relationship between intrusive carbonatite bodies and their extrusive counterparts, specifically the source and role of carbonate. My involvement in HiTech AlkCarb will be the development of the digital alkaline rocks and carbonatites database along with the chemical analysis of samples.

Dr Alan Woolley

After retirement I have continued as a research associate at the Natural History Museum, working on alkaline rocks and carbonatites. Presently I am completing the manuscript of the fourth, and final, volume entitled "Alkaline rocks and carbonatites of the world". This, with previous volumes, will comprise the initial material for a world database being undertaken as part of the HiTech AlkCarb project.

Alexandra Speiser

My company, A Speiser Environmental Consultants (ASEC), is an environmental company based in Namibia and was founded in 2003. I am responsible for carrying out environmental and social assurance for the research test drilling site in HiTech AlkCarb. I hold an MPhil in Environmental Science from the University of Cape Town (UCT) and a MSc in geology/palaeontology from the University of Göttingen, Germany. In over 21 years of work experience in southern Africa, I have gained in-depth knowledge of a broad range of disciplines within the environmental field, including projects related to alkaline rocks and carbonatites, and I have considerable experience with radioactivity issues (often the main public concern around alkaline and carbonatite projects) from work with uranium exploration and mining.

Dr Sam Weatherley

My research interests lie in the coupled chemical and physical processes that operate in igneous systems, how they drive magmatic evolution, and their implications for mineralising systems. I address these topics using a combination of petrography, in-situ chemical analyses, field work and geophysical scaling laws. My role in HiTech AlkCarb is to run the field expedition to Greenland, and to provide scientific input to work packages 2 and 5.

Dr Kristine Thrane

I am a senior geologist at GEUS, focusing on the Precambrian geology of Greenland. I have participated in a number of mapping and research projects in different parts of Greenland, including the REE-rich Gardar province. My background specialisation is in geochronology, isotope geology and geochemistry. More recently, I have also been involved in resource assessment of various commodities (e.g. REE, uranium, zinc, etc.) in Greenland. I am part of the Danish Center for Minerals and Materials (MIMA), which evaluates the criticality of mineral resources. I am also part of the EURARE project.

Dr Björn Heincke

I am an applied geophysicist at GEUS and have wide experience with processing, developing and interpretation of various geophysical data (magnetic, radiometry, MT, seismic tomography, georadar and gravity) for applications in mining, for slope instability studies and in hydrocarbon exploration. A particular research interest of mine is the combination of multiple geoscience data in joint inversion approaches. I will be involved in the integration and interpretation of geophysical data in HiTech AlkCarb.

Dr Graham Banks

I am an exploration geoscientist with 11 years industry experience, now working as a postdoc on HiTech AlkCarb. I bring application of magmatic processes, structural geology, frontier exploration, predictive exploration targeting, quantifying geological risk and license area evaluations from around the world. My interests put me in the overlap zone of geoscience research, industry exploration and strategic exploration decision-making. I have several aims during my research in HiTech AlkCarb:

• Develop a GIS-based mineral system framework for carbonatite-hosted REEs, at several scales.
• Test the capability of this mineral system in a predictive exploration targeting model.
• Enhance overlap between HiTech AlkCarb results and the needs of critical metals explorers.
• Add value and new viewpoints to the HiTech AlkCarb projects.

Professor Francesco Stoppa

I am Professor of Petrography and Petrology at Gabriele D'Annunzio University, Chieti-Pescara. I specialise in volcanology and petrology of carbonatites and related rocks, and have interests in relationships between volcanism and tectonics, volcanology, mineralogy and petrology of alkaline and carbonatite rocks, and ore deposits. I have collaborated with a number of internationally reputed scientists in the field of alkaline rocks and carbonatites. I discovered the first five occurrences of carbonatite in Italy and have published a number of papers on their volcanology, petrology, mineralogy and petrogenesis.

Dr Gianluigi Rosatelli

I am a Researcher in Geochemistry and Volcanology at Gabriele D'Annunzio University, with 20 years experience on extrusive carbonatites and alkaline rocks of Italy, Spain and Kenya. In the HiTech AlkCarb project, I will work on the petrogenetic link between extrusive and subvolcanic rocks at the Mt. Vulture, to establish the relationship between ejecta and potential mineralisation.