Dr Rich Crane

Overview:

Rich Crane is Associate Professor of Sustainable Mining at the Camborne School of Mines, University of Exeter. Prior to joining CSM in 2017 he was Postdoctoral Research Associate/Fellow at the Universities of Cardiff, UNSW (Australia) and Bristol. He has PhD (Applied Geochemistry) and BSc (Environmental Geoscience) degrees from the University of Bristol. 

Rich’s work focuses on developing sustainable, next-generation mining and waste-treatment technologies. Through an interdisciplinary approach which spans extractive metallurgy, materials science, nanotechnology, and applied geochemistry, it addresses a range of scenarios including mine site reclamation, waste valorisation, water treatment, and contaminant transport - all through a holistic lens that integrates technical, environmental, cultural, and regulatory perspectives.

A central theme of this work is the development of next-generation “keyhole” mining techniques for the selective extraction of subsurface metals without physical excavation, offering the potential to unlock a new sustainable future for both the mining and contaminated land industries.

Read more about my research interests here.

I am always interested to hear from prospective research students (MSc, MEng or PhD), postdoctoral researchers or other types of collaborators. Please get in touch if you have any interesting ideas. I am particularly interested in supervising PhD students (or collaborating on projects) in the following areas: