Aleks Nikoloski

I am an expert in the development of technology for the beneficiation, extraction and recovery of metals and minerals and the production of high purity metals and metal compounds, as precursors for high tech applications, including in electrochemical systems and batteries. Hydrometallurgy is a specialty branch of extractive metallurgy (which in turn is a branch of chemical engineering), that deals with the processing of metals and minerals in aqueous solutions. My main expertise within this area is the application of electrochemical techniques to the study of leaching and reduction processes used in the aqueous treatment of primary and secondary (recyclable) resources. I have over 25 years of experience working on this technology, spanning industrial and academic research and development, as well as teaching at every level. I am the head of the Hydrometallurgy Research Group at Murdoch University and I lead a number of applied research projects involving a range of unit operations relating to the production and use of many different commodities including lithium, vanadium, copper, cobalt, nickel, manganese, uranium, rare earths, zinc, coal, mineral sands and precious and platinum group metals. The quality of my work and contribution to the field have been acknowledged both within my workplace and internationally, including with The Vice-Chancellor's Excellence in Research Award for Distinguished and Sustained Achievement in 2023, which is the University's premier award for research that acknowledges the research achievements of a distinguished researcher who has provided sustained research performance and leadership over the previous 10 to 20 years.