The potential for mining to bring wider economic and social benefits in developing and developed economies is commonly compromised by the lack of sustainability within the industry. At the same time, technological developments and political agendas for emission control are pushing resource demands toward commodities that have not traditionally seen substantial extraction. This session will invite research that serves to address environmentally and socially sustainable mineral extraction in a society with changing resource needs. The session will bring together a diverse range of disciplines in geoscience to demonstrate how detailed studies of complex mineralising systems can improve exploration targeting, economic recovery and prospectivity modelling, and thus enhance the social and environmental sustainability of projects. The session will highlight the challenges to sustainable mineral exploration in developed and developing economies and the critical role that partnership working and community engagement can play. The session is sponsored by IAGOD WGCM (Working Group for Critical Metals).