St Andrews research team hunt rare minerals for gadgets production

By The Newsroom
Published 25th Feb 2016, 17:40 BST
Updated 25th Feb 2016, 17:45 BST
Dr Adrian Finch of St Andews University, pictured here working on mineral exploration in south east Greenland.Dr Adrian Finch of St Andews University, pictured here working on mineral exploration in south east Greenland.
Dr Adrian Finch of St Andews University, pictured here working on mineral exploration in south east Greenland.
A team of Scots scientists are to search for rare mineral depsits across Europe that could help create the gadgets of the future.

The team from University of St Andrews will set out to locate the rare earths and phosphates used in almost every modern device, from mobile phones to MRI scanners.

Less than three per cent of the supply of critical raw materials is currently sourced directly from Europe.

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However, experts believe that there is a wealth of as-yet-unexplored deposits located across the continent, which could be successfully mined.

Dr Adrian Finch, of the Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences at the University of St Andrews, said: “I am very excited to be working alongside some of the other world experts on finding and understanding natural critical resources in Europe.