UQ Tailings Innovation Summit
Workshop 02 I Sourcing Minerals for Carbon Removal Roundtable
20 November 2026
UQ Brisbane City
This workshop is designed to bring together mining professionals interested in carbon removal and carbon removal experts seeking to understand mining and mineral resource assessment.
The workshop will provide an overview of carbon removal credit markets and key technologies, focusing on mineral-based pathways such as enhanced rock weathering, surficial mineralisation, and ocean alkalinity enhancement. Sessions include a carbon credit buyer perspective, a start-up case study, and in-depth talks on sourcing minerals, including from tailings.
Participants will also take part in an interactive exercise focused on identifying potential mineral sources in Queensland. The workshop will emphasize
practical insights and cross-sector understanding.
Workshop outline
9:00am - 9:30am: Overview of Technologies Using Minerals for Carbon Removal
Speaker: Associate Professor Evelyn Mervine, Carbon & Climate Change Group Lead, Sustainable Minerals Institute, The University of Queensland
9.30am - 10.00 am: Reporting Mineral Resources for Carbon Removal
Speaker: Professor Mark Noppé, Director, WH Bryan Mining Geology Research Centre, The University of Queensland
10:00am - 10:30am: Buyer’s Perspective: Why Minerals are Needed for Carbon Removal
Speaker: Dr. Frauke Kracke, Frontier Climate (online speaker)
10:30am - 11.00am: Morning Tea
11:00am - 11:20am: Scaling Carbon Removal Using Serpentine-rich Mine Residues: Arca Climate Technologies
Speaker: Dr Greg Dipple, Arca Climate Technologies (online speaker)
11:20am - 11:40am: Alkalinity Production for Scaling Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement: Site Selection
Speaker: Assistant Professor Dr. Jim Franke, The University of Chicago (online speaker)
11:40am - 12:00pm: Questions and Discussion
12.00pm - 12.45 pm: Lunch
12.45pm - 1.15pm: Geology Deep Dive – Rocks and Minerals Needed for Carbon Removal
Speaker: Associate Professor Evelyn Mervine, Carbon & Climate Change Group Lead, Sustainable Minerals Institute, The University of Queensland
1.15pm - 2:15pm: Interactive Activity – Sourcing Minerals for Carbon Removal in Queensland, Australia
2.15pm - 2.45pm: Afternoon Tea
2.45pm - 3.15pm: Case Study: Mapping Sources of Minerals for Carbon Removal in Spain
Speaker: Dr. Liam Bullock, El Instituto Geológico y Minero de España (online speaker)
3.15pm - 4.00 pm: Final Discussion and Closing
Facilitator
Associate Professor Evelyn Mervine leads the Carbon & Climate Change Group within the Centre for Environmental Responsibility in Mining at the Sustainable Minerals Institute. Prior to joining SMI, she spent fourteen years in the mining industry in a range of geology and sustainability roles.
During this time, she worked on numerous research and development initiatives focused on using minerals for reaction with carbon dioxide, including both surficial mineralisation and enhanced rock weathering. Notably, she initiated and led Project CarbonVault, which assessed carbon storage potential at De Beers diamond mine sites, and contributed to studies on the reactivity of materials from platinum mines in South Africa.
Dr Mervine holds a B.A. in Earth Sciences from Dartmouth College, an M.Sc. in Carbon Management from the University of Edinburgh, and a Ph.D. in Marine Geology from the Joint Program between The Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Her doctoral research examined natural carbon storage reactions in ultramafic rocks in Oman.