Declining ore grades, tighter capital discipline and rising pressure to secure critical mineral supply chains are forcing a reassessment of what constitutes value in mining. Material long classified as waste — mine tailings — is increasingly being revisited as a partially processed resource with unrealised potential.

At the same time, advances in processing technologies, from bioleaching and advanced sorting to nanotechnology and modular systems, are beginning to make that potential technically and, in some cases, commercially viable. But significant constraints remain, including incomplete classification of legacy sites, site-specific economics and the challenge of integrating new approaches into established operations.

Discover B2B Marketing That Performs

Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.

Find out more

In this episode, we examine how and when tailings shift from liability to asset, where the strongest opportunities are emerging, and what determines whether projects move beyond concept to deployment, featuring insights from:

  • Chamirai Nyabeze, network director at Canada’s Mining Innovation Commercialisation Accelerator (MICA)
https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/Qdiz4ubHT2b

Electrify your listening with weekly episodes discussing the latest and greatest developments across the power, oil and gas and mining sectors. From power plants to pipelines to open pits, our energy journalists pick expert brains to understand the industry-defining topics and cutting-edge technologies transforming operations and productivity. Powered by data and analysis from Power Technology’s parent company, GlobalData, the Energy Technology podcast is dripping in industry insights.

Episodes go live every Tuesday, 7AM EDT (12PM BST).

Listen to Energy Technology: Industry Insights on Spotify, Apple Podcasts,  Amazon or wherever you get your podcasts.

If you like our podcast, make sure to subscribe and be notified of new episodes every week. For quick daily updates on the industry, subscribe to our newsletter