Overview
Background
Biography:
Associate Professor James Vaughan is the Chemical Engineering Metallurgy Major Lead and Leader of the Hydrometallurgy Research Group. He obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Metallurgical Engineering at McGill University followed by Master of Applied Science and PhD degrees in Materials Engineering at The University of British Columbia in Canada. Before joining UQ, James gained industrial metallurgical process research and development experience with Glencore, Barrick and BHP. While at UQ, James served as Director of the University of Queensland Rio Tinto Bauxite & Alumina Technology Centre and has been Lead Chief Investigator of Australian Research Council Linkage and Discovery Projects. He is a member of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) and the Advanced Materials and Batteries Council (AMBC).
Research:
James' research focuses on the fundamental aspects of leaching, ion exchange and precipitation reactions as well as membrane separations. These projects are of interest to the base metals, precious metals and alumina refining industries as well as in the fabrication of value added materials such as lithium ion battery cathode precursors and zeolites.
Current Projects:
- Extracting Queensland's rare earth elements sustainably (Queensland Department of Resources)
- Copper process innovations (UniQuest)
- New approach for producing zeolites from clay or mine tailings (Zeotech)
- Inorganic membrane percrystallisation in hydrometallurgy (ARC Discovery)
- Improving pressure oxidation for refractory gold (Newmont)
- Effects of solution impurities on gold leaching (Newmont and BHP ARC Linkage)
- Recycling vanadium catalyst (QEM Critical Minerals Trailblazer)
- Purification of battery metal solution (Lanxess Critical Minerals Trailblazer)
- Recycling batteries (V Resource)
Teaching and Learning:
- Hydrometallurgy and Electrometallurgy (METL6204)
- Metal Production and Recycling (METL2201)
Availability
- Associate Professor James Vaughan is:
- Not available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, The University of British Columbia
Research interests
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Hydrometallurgy
leaching, precipitation, crystallisation, ion exchange, membranes, electrowinning
Research impacts
My research in hydrometallurgy is used for process development and improvements. Examples of contributions are as follows:
- Selective acid leach process for refining mixed Ni-Co hydroxide precipitate licensed to Pure Battery Technologies
- Low cost zeolite production technology licensed to Zeotech
- New approaches for bauxite impurity management in the production of alumina
- A hydrometallurgical route for recovering Ni and K from agromined bio-ore
- The synergistic copper process
Works
Search Professor James Vaughan’s works on UQ eSpace
2023
Book Chapter
Hydrometallurgical processing of e-waste and metal recovery
Amilton Barbosa Botelho Junior, Ummul Khair Sultana and James Vaughan (2023). Hydrometallurgical processing of e-waste and metal recovery. Management of electronic waste: resource recovery, technology and regulation. (pp. 234-288) edited by Anshu Priya. Hoboken, NJ United States: Wiley.
2023
Journal Article
Nickel sulfate solution fluoride separation with hydrous zirconium oxide
Nigri, Elbert M., Sultana, Ummul K., Santos, André L. A., Vaughan, James W. and Rocha, Sônia D. F. (2023). Nickel sulfate solution fluoride separation with hydrous zirconium oxide. Tungsten, 6 (2), 367-381. doi: 10.1007/s42864-023-00241-1
2023
Journal Article
Synthesis of zeolites using kaolin in concentrated sodium hydroxide-aluminate solutions
Vogrin, John, Santini, Talitha, Peng, Hong, Zhao, Ling and Vaughan, James (2023). Synthesis of zeolites using kaolin in concentrated sodium hydroxide-aluminate solutions. Applied Clay Science, 224 (November) 107106, 107106. doi: 10.1016/j.clay.2023.107106
2023
Journal Article
Production of pure water and dry salt from NaCl solutions via percrystallisation by supported carbon membranes
Abd Jalil, Siti Nurehan, Vaughan, James and Motuzas, Julius (2023). Production of pure water and dry salt from NaCl solutions via percrystallisation by supported carbon membranes. Journal of Water Process Engineering, 54 103968, 103968. doi: 10.1016/j.jwpe.2023.103968
2023
Journal Article
Silica gel free region and rare earth metal extraction correlations in reprocessing bauxite residue
Wang, Sicheng, Dube, Bugalo, Vaughan, James, Gao, Shuai and Peng, Hong (2023). Silica gel free region and rare earth metal extraction correlations in reprocessing bauxite residue. Minerals Engineering, 199 108115, 108115. doi: 10.1016/j.mineng.2023.108115
2023
Conference Publication
Rare earth element sources, end-use demand trends, and hydrometallurgical separations
Vaughan, J., Gontijo, V.L., Valenta, R. and Alonso, E. (2023). Rare earth element sources, end-use demand trends, and hydrometallurgical separations. 26th World Mining Congress, Brisbane, QLD Australia, 26-29 June 2023. Brisbane, QLD Australia: World Mining Congress.
2023
Conference Publication
Novel extraction route for lithium from alpha spodumene by chlorination roasting and inorganic membrane percrystalisation
Fosu, A.Y., Kanari, N., Deng, Y., Motuzas, J., Howes, T., Vaughan, J. and Chagnes, A. (2023). Novel extraction route for lithium from alpha spodumene by chlorination roasting and inorganic membrane percrystalisation. 26th World Mining Congress, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 26-29 June 2023. Brisbane, QLD, Australia: World Mining Congress.
2023
Journal Article
Revealing the effect of anions on the formation and transformation of zeolite LTA in caustic solutions: an in situ synchrotron PXRD study
Wang, Sicheng, Vaughan, James, Xia, Fang, Etschmann, Barbara, Brugger, Joël, Brand, Helen and Peng, Hong (2023). Revealing the effect of anions on the formation and transformation of zeolite LTA in caustic solutions: an in situ synchrotron PXRD study. Crystal Growth and Design, 23 (5), 3660-3670. doi: 10.1021/acs.cgd.3c00106
2023
Journal Article
The influence of sodium sulphate on sodium aluminosilicate solubility in Bayer liquor aiding the desilication process
Vogrin, John, Peng, Hong, Santini, Talitha, Lee, Li Jie and Vaughan, James (2023). The influence of sodium sulphate on sodium aluminosilicate solubility in Bayer liquor aiding the desilication process. Hydrometallurgy, 219 106079, 1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.hydromet.2023.106079
2023
Journal Article
Revealing the mechanisms of metal adsorption by bauxite residue
Peng, Hong, Vu, Ngoc Quy, Vaughan, James, Wang, Sicheng and Gao, Shuai (2023). Revealing the mechanisms of metal adsorption by bauxite residue. Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, 62 (8), 3515-3524. doi: 10.1021/acs.iecr.2c02928
2023
Journal Article
Synthesis of zeolite from low-cost feeds and its sustainable environmental applications
Gao, Shuai, Peng, Hong, Song, Bing, Zhang, Jinxuan, Wu, Weixi, Vaughan, James, Zardo, Peter, Vogrin, John, Tulloch, Sylvia and Zhu, Zhonghua (2023). Synthesis of zeolite from low-cost feeds and its sustainable environmental applications. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 11 (1) 108995, 1-18. doi: 10.1016/j.jece.2022.108995
2023
Book Chapter
Introducing membrane percrystallisation technology for hydrometallurgical applications
Jalil, Siti Nurehan Abd, Motuzas, Julius and Vaughan, James (2023). Introducing membrane percrystallisation technology for hydrometallurgical applications. New directions in mineral processing, extractive metallurgy, recycling and waste minimization: an EPD Symposium in honor of Patrick R. Taylor. (pp. 343-354) edited by Ramana G. Reddy, Alexandra Anderson, Corby G. Anderson, Camille Fleuriault, Erik D. Spiller, Mark Strauss, Edgar E. Vidal and Mingming Zhang. Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature Switzerland. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-22765-3_31
2023
Book Chapter
Turning bauxite residue to metal adsorption materials through a low-cost approach
Peng, Hong, Vaughan, James, Ma, Shengchun, Wang, Sicheng and Tian, Xinyu (2023). Turning bauxite residue to metal adsorption materials through a low-cost approach. Light Metals 2023. (pp. 225-229) edited by Stephan Broek. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-22532-1_30
2022
Conference Publication
The removal of radionuclides during metallurgical processing iron oxide copper gold uranium ores
Vaughan, James, Fu, Weng, Hawker, William, Byrne, Kelly, Hodge, Harrison, Cardenas, Efrain, Hayes, Peter and Cook, Nigel (2022). The removal of radionuclides during metallurgical processing iron oxide copper gold uranium ores. Copper 2022, Santiago, Chile, 13-17 November 2022. Santiago, Chile: The Chilean Institute of Mining Engineers.
2022
Conference Publication
Low cost improvements to the Sandy DSP process
Audet, Denis, Vaughan, James and Peng, Hong (2022). Low cost improvements to the Sandy DSP process. International ICSOBA Conference, Athens, Greece, 10-14 October 2022. Quebec, Canada: ICSOBA.
2022
Journal Article
Role of the substrate on Ni inhibition in biological sulfate reduction
Liu, Yun, Vaughan, James, Southam, Gordon, Serrano, Antonio, Gao, Han, Palfreyman, Robin, Marcellin, Esteban and Villa-Gomez, Denys K. (2022). Role of the substrate on Ni inhibition in biological sulfate reduction. Journal of Environmental Management, 316 115216, 115216. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.115216
2022
Journal Article
Novel extraction route of lithium from α-spodumene by dry chlorination
Fosu, Allen Yushark, Kanari, Ndue, Bartier, Danièle, Vaughan, James and Chagnes, Alexandre (2022). Novel extraction route of lithium from α-spodumene by dry chlorination. RSC Advances, 12 (33), 21468-21481. doi: 10.1039/d2ra03233c
2022
Journal Article
Extraction of rare-earth elements from silicate-based ore through hydrometallurgical route
Botelho Junior, Amilton Barbosa, Romano Espinosa, Denise Crocce, Vaughan, James and Soares Tenório, Jorge Alberto (2022). Extraction of rare-earth elements from silicate-based ore through hydrometallurgical route. Metals, 12 (7) 1133, 1-21. doi: 10.3390/met12071133
2022
Conference Publication
Efficient rare earth extraction from Mary Kathleen uranium process tailings via H2SO4 baking and water leaching
Fu, Weng, Guan, Yujia, Kelly, Kieran and Vaughan, James (2022). Efficient rare earth extraction from Mary Kathleen uranium process tailings via H2SO4 baking and water leaching. ALTA Metallurgical Conference, Perth, Australia, 22-26 May 2022. Australia: ALTA Metallurgical Services.
2022
Other Outputs
Review of mineral processing technologies suitable for arsenic recovery from sulphidic ores and wastes
e Abreu, Susana Brito, Southam, Gordon, Villa Gomez, Denys, Ma, Xiaodong, Vaughan, James, Micklethwaite, Steven, Forbes, Liza and Parbhakar-Fox, Anita (2022). Review of mineral processing technologies suitable for arsenic recovery from sulphidic ores and wastes. Brisbane, QLD Australia: The University of Queensland.
Funding
Current funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Associate Professor James Vaughan is:
- Not available for supervision
Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Doctor Philosophy
Interactions of inorganic components in process water with gold
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Yongjun Peng
-
Doctor Philosophy
Impurity control in Rare Earth Element Processing
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Ummul Sultana
-
Doctor Philosophy
Inorganic membrane percrystallisation in hydrometallurgy
Principal Advisor
-
Doctor Philosophy
Percrystallisation in Hydrometallurgy
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Tony Howes
-
Doctor Philosophy
Fundamental research on zeolite nucleation and particle growth
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Hong Peng
-
Doctor Philosophy
CO2 Mineralization with Metals Extraction : A Pathway to CO2 Sequestration Commercialization
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Damien Batstone, Associate Professor Karen Steel
Completed supervision
-
2023
Doctor Philosophy
Development of Carbon-based Membranes for the Percrystallisation of Aqueous Salt Solutions
Principal Advisor
-
2021
Doctor Philosophy
Fundamentals of sodium aluminosilicate precipitation
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Hong Peng
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
Increasing Desilication Product Particle Size to Enable its Physical Separation from Bayer Residue
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Hong Peng
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
Fundamentals of Partial Pressure Oxidation of Gold Bearing Sulphide Minerals
Principal Advisor
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
Sintering Method for Recycling Sodium and Aluminium from Bayer Desilication Product: Reaction Mechanisms and Novel Process Development
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Emeritus Professor Peter Hayes
-
2020
Master Philosophy
The Effect of Cations on Bayer Process Desilication and the Lithium Opportunity
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Hong Peng
-
2017
Master Philosophy
Stabilisation of Mercury to a Non-Volatile Phase in Bayer Process Digestion
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor William Clarke
-
2015
Doctor Philosophy
Crystallisation of tricalcium aluminate for use as a Bayer liquor filter aid
Principal Advisor
-
2015
Doctor Philosophy
A novel low-energy process route for primary copper production utilising synergistic hydro- and pyro-metallurgical processes
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Emeritus Professor Peter Hayes
-
-
2015
Doctor Philosophy
Mercury Deportment in the Bayer Process and Highly Alkaline Solution Electrochemistry
Principal Advisor
-
2013
Doctor Philosophy
Recovery of nickel and cobalt from laterite tailings through scavenging with ion exchange resin and selective ammoniacal elution
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Emeritus Professor Peter Hayes
-
2021
Master Philosophy
Diagnostic leaching of radionuclide containing copper concentrates
Associate Advisor
-
2021
Doctor Philosophy
A novel and sustainable process for the recovery of nickel from laterite ores with concomitant sequestration of carbon dioxide.
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Karen Steel
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
Strategies for nickel and cobalt recovery from mine-impacted water using sulfate-reducing bacteria
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Gordon Southam, Dr Denys Villa Gomez
-
2018
Master Philosophy
Novel Percrystallisation Process by Inorganic Carbon Membranes
Associate Advisor
-
2018
Doctor Philosophy
Using Municipal Solid Waste as a Carbon Source for Biogenic H2S production
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Ilje Pikaar, Dr Denys Villa Gomez, Professor William Clarke
Media
Enquiries
Contact Associate Professor James Vaughan directly for media enquiries about:
- Hydrometallurgy
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