James Vaughan

Associate Professor James Vaughan is the Chemical Engineering Metallurgy Major Lead and Leader of the Hydrometallurgy Research Group at the School of Chemical Engineering, University of Queensland. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Metallurgical Engineering from McGill University, and Master of Applied Science and PhD degrees in Materials Engineering from the University of British Columbia. Prior to joining UQ, he gained industrial metallurgical R&D experience with Glencore, Barrick, and BHP.

His research focuses on fundamental aspects of hydrometallurgical processes including leaching, ion exchange, precipitation reactions, and membrane separations. These projects support base metals, precious metals, alumina refining industries, and value-added materials production. Key research areas include sustainable resource extraction, waste valorization, and critical metal recovery technologies.

Current research projects demonstrate a strong focus on sustainable resource recovery:

• Extracting Queensland's rare earth elements sustainably
• Copper process innovations
• Zeolite production from clay/mine tailings
• Inorganic membrane percrystallisation
• Pressure oxidation optimization for gold extraction
• Battery metal recycling and purification

Vaughan has led multiple Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage and Discovery Projects. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Hydrometallurgy and Electrometallurgy (METL6204) and Metal Production and Recycling (METL2201). As leader of the Hydrometallurgy Research Group, he oversees projects developing innovative extraction technologies for primary and secondary resources.