Dr Ataollah Nosrati, a research associate at the University of South Australia's Ian Wark Research Institute, is the brain behind this finding.

The chemical engineer was awarded a scholarship for a PhD project in mineral processing after migrating from Iran to Australia six years ago.

The findings, which underpinned the four-year PhD, have won him a spot in Fresh Science, a national program sponsored by the Australian government for early career scientists.

He was one of 12 people selected into the program, shortlisted from 48 people from around the country.

While there is no generic prize for winners, Nosrati said the real benefit of being selected into the top 12 was the opportunity to make the public aware of his findings.

"The research findings pave the way for enhancing our ability to process complex, low-grade ore of copper, gold, nickel and cobalt," he said.

To extract valuable metals, mineral deposits are mined and processed as concentrated slurries in mixing tanks at high temperatures under acidic or alkaline conditions, otherwise known as cooking.

But on occasion, the breakdown of attached silicon compounds results in everything thickening into gel.

While science can be complicated, Nosrati has broken down his findings to MiningNewsPremium.

Starting at the beginning, Nosrati said cooking, or leaching, which was the scientific term, involved dissolving the valuable mineral or ore particles into a solution.

The problem, Nosrati said, starts at the ground level.

Nosrati said the ground being dug for minerals had some unwanted materials such as silica, which had no value.

"When they are subject to such extreme conditions in terms of acidity or temperature they also start dissolving into liquid throughout the solution phase," he said.

"The overall slurry is supposed to be fluidity, which can be mixed or pumped so it can be easily transferred from one tank to another.

"But the problem is that sometimes the whole thing becomes thick like mixing cream."

So Nosrati sought to find what was happening at a microscopic level. In other words, why were these sticky gel-like materials forming during the liquid processing of mineral ores?

Nosrati soon realised that when the concentration of some of the dissolved elements, especially silica, combined with elevated temperatures, each individual ion or element was forced to start reacting together, forming a three-dimensional network, otherwise known as polymerisation.

Essentially, Nosrati found that the clay-based minerals release significant amounts of gel-forming elements into the processing solution, with reactions among these elements resulting in the jelly solution.

With the bonding of elements causing the gelation-like substance, Nosrati said there were mitigation strategies in place, including diluting the system and decreasing temperature, but these would be undertaken once the damage was already done.

Nosrati said his findings would pave the way for research into totally preventing gelation.

"Now with knowing what the chemical reactions are which underpin gelation, we can say we are ready to tackle the real problem," he said.

Nosrati compared the significance of his findings to a doctor diagnosing an ill patient.

"Once you know what is wrong, you can start prescribing the necessary medication," he said.

Nosrati said complete prevention of gelation would have wide-ranging benefits, including higher recovery rates of valuable metals, lower operating costs, a dramatic increase in throughput, as well as a reduced number of plant shutdowns.

However, a complete remedy or mitigation strategy for gelation in mineral processing is yet to be found, and Nosrati says this requires more research and therefore more funding.

While Nosrati welcomed the chance to undertake the study himself, he said he would first have to write a proposal and gain funding.

He said a study on this level would take about three years, and $100,000 a year would be required to cover 1one or two PhD students and the research itself.

Nosrati said the research needed support from different bodies, including those in the mining industry and the Australian Research Council.

It is not just this project that needs funding and support, but a heap of other would-be research projects that Nosrati said had potential.

During his years in Australia, Nosrati said he has noticed how things had changed in terms of financial support for research projects.

"I have noticed a decline in funding and support," he said.

"Maybe the industry is not ready or willing to participate in research projects."