The research activities include the characterisation, exploration and modelling of deposits of mineral resources, as well as the chemical-physical-mineralogical characterisation of raw materials for industrial applications. Specific studies are aimed at:

1. Understanding the controls on metal and non-metal enrichment and genesis of useful minerals in a variety of geological settings (including seafloor, crust and mantle),
2. Providing guidelines for mineral exploration in specific geological contexts and for the sustainable exploitation of industrial minerals, and
3. Optimizing the processing of mineral resources and minimising its environmental impact, also through the development of advanced, cost-effective and circularity-oriented recovery methods and cross industry resource efficiency.

The different scientific lines may involve collection and integration of different types of data (e.g., mineralogical, petrological, geochemical, physical-chemical, etc.), which can be acquired through field geological surveys, laboratory analyses, thermodynamic modelling, and tailored experiments

Professors coordinating and developing projects related to this research pathway: Gilberto Artioli, Giorgio Cassiani, Silvana Martin, Fabrizio Nestola, Paolo Nimis, Maria Chiara Dalconi, Claudio Mazzoli, Luca Valentini