Dr Rich Crane
Associate Professor
Mining and Minerals
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, hydrometallurgy, materials science, electrochemistry, nanotechnology, and applied geochemistry, it addresses a range of scenarios including mine site reclamation, industrial waste valorisation and water treatment - 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 surgery” metal extraction techniques, offering the potential to create more sustainable futures for the mining and industrial waste sectors.