Adrian Finch

Adrian Finch is Professor of Geology at the University of St Andrews' School of Earth & Environmental Sciences, with active research in mineralogy, petrology, and geochemistry of rift-related magmas. He directs the St Andrews Isotope Geochemistry group and contributes to the Centre for Clean Energy Research and Centre for Energy Ethics.

His research focuses on rare earth element deposits in alkaline igneous systems, particularly in rift environments across Greenland, Mongolia, and Malawi. With 12 Arctic field seasons, he specializes in niobium and tantalum mineralization processes. Current projects include HiTech AlkCarb (EU-funded critical raw materials exploration) and coral biomineralization studies under EPSRC funding.

Analysis of his 149 research outputs reveals strong emphasis on rare earth element geochemistry (100% of fingerprint), magma processes (59%), and Greenland geology (57%). His recent work bridges geological resource formation with environmental biomineralization processes.

• Alan Howie medal for best mineralogy paper (2021)
• Diamond Synchrotron 2020 research highlight
• Fellow of Geological Society (since 1996)
• Fellow of Mineralogical Society (since 2002)
• Applied Mineralogy Group Postgraduate Bursary (2022)

Finch supervises multiple PhD students including Rooks (Motzfeldt Deposit research) and Horsburgh (REE-induced defects). He serves as External Examiner at University of Turku and consults for exploration companies like Eclipse Metals. His advisory roles include UK Government Office for Science (GOScience) on critical raw materials and St Andrews Sustainability Panel. The researcher leads fieldwork-intensive projects with industrial partnerships driving commercial impacts in rare metal extraction.