“It’s an exciting time to be in mining”

Nov. 18, 2022

Graduate student Nicholas Tillotson's research on leaching cobalt ores

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Student Intern

Graduate student Nicholas Tillotson

To the mining industry, it’s no surprise that cobalt is an important metal. Why is that? Cobalt is considered and is integral to moving beyond fossil fuel resources to more renewable energy sources. Due to the extremely high-grade deposits found in the African Copperbelt, most of the world’s cobalt production/mining takes place in the Congo. However, political instability within the region leads to supply volatility, a problem that could be reduced if improvements in cobalt extraction technology made cobalt production viable in more places around the world. However there can be supply volatility which can be reduced by making cobalt production viable in more places by improving cobalt extraction techniques. Master’s student in mining and geological engineering, Nicholas Tillotson is hoping to understand this problem and set the foundation for students in the future.

Tillotson is from the state of Washington, and started his college career studying physics at the California Institute of Technology but eventually realized he wanted to change paths. He then transferred to the University of Washington in Seattle to finish his Bachelor of Science in Geology in 2019.

“Every time I left the lecture hall I could see the world in a new way,” says Tillotson about his first geology class. He describes how much geology has impacted his world view, just being able to look at the environment and see the marks of what he was learning about in class. The passionate student loves the ability to pursue a career in something he’s excited about. He then decided to do some research on the mining industry and made the leap to apply to the Master’s program at the University of Arizona.

“Everything I know about mining I’ve learned since last August,” says Tillotson. It was daunting at first jumping into the mining industry without knowing much about it, but he quickly caught up and enjoys every part of it. In Tillotson’s undergraduate program he specialized in big picture aspects of geology. At the University of Arizona, his research focuses on the small-scale, mineralogy and metallurgy of cobalt.

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Seafloor nodule

In order to examine samples under the scanning electron microscope, they are mounted in circular epoxy pucks and polish their faces down to a glass-like ultrasmooth finish

In Tillotson’s research, he examines samples of cobalt-bearing mixed-oxide ores and the metal recovery process of acid leaching. Tillotson is working with two types of samples, one that is known to extract somewhat easier than the other which is more difficult. He is examining any patterns in how cobalt is distributed throughout different minerals and different regions of the samples and comparing which minerals and regions retain cobalt after leaching to better understand the mechanisms that limit how much of the cobalt can be leached from this type of ore. Tillotson hopes that his work, and the work of students after him will lay the groundwork for developing new, more efficient methods for leaching cobalt from problematic ores.

“It’s an exciting time to be in mining,” says Tillotson. He recommends the field for anyone who may be considering jumping in. His advice? Go on as many field trips as possible, and widen your horizons. Don’t stay content within your own specialty. “Breakthroughs happen when people approach stubborn problems in one field with fresh ideas taken from completely different fields.”


 

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SEM Backscatter image of a seafloor nodule

SEM Backscatter image of a seafloor nodule