Advanced Methods for Deep Understanding of Critical Minerals and Materials Biogeochemistry

Overview

EMSL 2026 Summer School: Day 1.

The U.S. is focused on increasing and strengthening a domestic supply of critical minerals and materials (CMMs) to provide the nation with energy independence and sustainable energy technologies.

For one week in July, researchers of all career levels, including graduate students, joined national laboratory and academic experts at EMSL 2026 Summer School to explore methods used to uncover the molecular properties and behavior of CMMs.

Check out recorded presentations from Day 1 using the navigation menu at left.

Session 1: Critical Minerals and Materials Biogeochemistry Key Gaps, Challenges, and Future Opportunities
Session 2: Unlocking Critical Minerals in Red Mud Through EMSL Multiscale Characterization
Session 3: Applying X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy to Critical Mineral Speciation - Links to Organic Matter, Reactive Redox Phases, and Redox-Oscillation–Driven Mobilization
Session 4: Advancing Critical Mineral Research Using Time-of-Flight SIMS
Session 5: High resolution mass spectroscopy imaging by NanoSIMS
Session 6: Using MALDI MSI for Critical Minerals and Materials Research

Critical Minerals and Materials Biogeochemistry Key Gaps, Challenges, and Future Opportunities

Clara Chan (Professor, University of Delaware) discusses:

Geochemical host phase heterogeneity, critical minerals and materials (CMM) selectivity, chemical or physical form, roles of poorly crystalline minerals
Roles of microbes, organic complexing ligands, kinetic rates
Capabilities that probe molecular scale processes

Clara Chan

University of Delaware

Unlocking Critical Minerals in Red Mud Through EMSL Multiscale Characterization

Xiaoxu Li (Chemist, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) presents a case study demonstrating how EMSL capabilities can answer the practical questions of where critical minerals are located and how they can be found.

Xiaoxu Li

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Applying X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy to Critical Mineral Speciation: Links to Organic Matter, Reactive Redox Phases, and Redox-Oscillation–Driven Mobilization

Shuttha Shutthanandan (Materials Scientist, EMSL) discusses capabilities that address redox properties and surface environments:

CMM speciation, associated with organic or other reactive redox-phases
How redox oscillations impact CMM mobilization
Analytics: XPS

Shuttha Shutthanandan

EMSL

Advancing Critical Mineral Research Using Time-of-Flight SIMS

Zihua Zhu (Chemist, EMSL) discusses:

ToF-SIMS to characterize the spatial distribution, chemical speciation, and surface associations of CMMs
Microscale heterogeneity, mineral–organic interfaces that control CMM mobilization and stabilization
CMM associations with microbes, and linking these co-associations to reaction pathways that may control CMM mobilization, stabilization, and transformation
Analytics: ToF-SIMS

Zihua Zhu

EMSL

High Resolution Mass Spectroscopy Imaging by NanoSIMS

Jeremy Bougoure (Chemist, EMSL) discusses:

NanoSIMS to characterize the spatial distribution, chemical speciation, and surface associations of critical minerals and materials (CMM)
Microscale heterogeneity, mineral–organic interfaces that control CMM mobilization and stabilization
CMM associations with microbes and linking these co-associations to reaction pathways that may control CMM mobilization, stabilization, and transformation
Analytics: NanoSIMS

Jeremy Bougoure

EMSL

Using MALDI MSI for Critical Minerals and Materials Research

Dušan Veličković (Chemist, EMSL) discusses:

MALDI-MS for spatially resolved metabolomic and omics profiling to correlate molecular and metabolic signatures with critical minerals and materials (CMM) distributions
Link processes such as mineral–microbe and mineral–organic interactions to biochemical pathways that influence CMM mobilization, stabilization, and transformation
Analytics: MALDI MSI