The consortium of the RAWMINA project, consisting of 19 partners, gathered on June 18, 2024, in SAXONIA, Freiberg, Germany, to review progress on developing a sustainable pilot system for recovering valuable raw materials from mining waste.
The meeting highlighted the successful completion of key milestones such as mining waste conditioning and bench-scale process validation, which laid the foundation for the upcoming pilot implementation. The engineering updates focused on commissioning and demonstrating the continuous pilot system, integrating innovative technologies like bioleaching (using microbes to extract metals), advanced separation techniques, and chemical processes to recover valuable materials. This remains a key ongoing effort for the project.
Additionally, sustainability assessments made significant progress with advancements in by-product characterization and social innovation strategies for critical material recovery. Finally, discussions on commercialization centered on scaling up technologies and finalizing business plans to ensure market readiness, supported by ongoing communication efforts to disseminate findings.
The meeting reinforced the project’s commitment to transforming mining waste into valuable resources and promoting a circular economy in the EU.
Leitat provided an update on its project coordinator status and shared advances made in the recovery of critical raw materials (Co, Sb, W, and Ge) from nanofibrous composite materials (NCMs). Leitat also presented progress in the Human Risk Assessment of the project.
The consortium members had the opportunity to visit Terra Mineralia on June 18, providing a unique insight into the geological collection that supports the project’s work.
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