Join us for the 2026 Adrian Smith Lecture featuring
Sasha Wilson
Professor
University of Alberta
Critical metal recovery with carbon dioxide mineralization in ore processing
Wednesday, June 10, 2026
2:00 p.m.
In-person: QNC 2502
Every critical metal deposit contains ore minerals, which are considered valuable, and gangue minerals, which are disposed of as waste. It is not uncommon for mining operations to remit on the order of 30 percent of their valuable metals to waste because they’re present in difficult-to-process gangue minerals, such as silicates and hydroxides. Some of these silicate and hydroxide minerals can be carbonated to lock the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, into carbonate minerals over geologic timescales. This talk will discuss how carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere could be used for low-carbon ore processing while enhancing recovery of the critical metals we need to build clean and secure energy systems.
Free admission ~ Reception to follow in EIT 3142
Sasha Wilson
Professor
University of Alberta
Sasha Wilson is a professor at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. He currently holds the Canada Research Chair in Biogeochemistry of Sustainable Mineral Resources. Sasha is a mineralogist who completed a B.Sc. (Hons.) in Physics at McMaster University and an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Geological Sciences at The University of British Columbia.