Axel Müller

Professor Axel Müller serves as Research Group Leader for the Norwegian Center for Mineralogy (NORMIN) at the Natural History Museum, University of Oslo. His academic career spans industry, government geological surveys, and academia, with current focus on mineralogy and petrology of granites and pegmatites. Müller maintains dual affiliations as External Researcher at the Natural History Museum of London since 2012.

• Professor of Mineralogy, University of Oslo (2015-present)
• Research Group Leader, NORMIN
• External Researcher, Natural History Museum London (2012-present)
• Associate Editor, Journal of Geochemical Exploration
• Scientific Associate, Natural History Museum London

Professor Müller's research centers on genetic mineralogy, particularly quartz chemistry in pegmatite systems, with applications for solar cells and microchip production. His work bridges fundamental mineral science and industrial applications, focusing on rare-metal (Li, Sn, W, Nb, Ta, REE) and industrial mineral deposits. Current projects emphasize exploration for critical raw materials essential to the energy transition.

His publication record demonstrates consistent output in top geoscience journals, with recent work (2023-2025) focusing on pegmatite exploration techniques, quartz chemistry, and machine learning applications in mineral deposit identification. Müller leads the significant EU-funded GREENPEG project developing tools for locating buried pegmatite deposits containing lithium and high-purity quartz.

• Society of Economic Geologists (SEG)
• Society for Geology Applied to Mineral Deposits (SGA)
• Mineralogical Society of UK and Ireland
• Leibniz-Sozietät der Wissenschaften zu Berlin

Professor Müller actively supervises graduate students through the University of Oslo, with research opportunities connected to NORMIN's analytical facilities and international collaborations. His GREENPEG project provides substantial funding for PhD and postdoctoral positions focused on critical raw materials exploration. The research group maintains strong industry partnerships with mineral exploration companies and geological surveys across Europe.

NORMIN serves as Norway's national hub for mineralogical research, housing advanced analytical equipment and the Mars Sample Return Analogue Sample Library (MSR ASL). Müller's group conducts fieldwork across Norwegian pegmatite provinces and European lithium deposits, with recent work in Austria's Wolfsberg deposit and Norway's Tysfjord region.