The Economic and Environmental Motivations of Commercial Tailings Reprocessing for Added Value

Metals recovered from tailings are still a very minor source of metals in comparison to primary mining. Further research is needed on commercial reprocessing practices, as actual operations remain rare despite increasing interest in tailings valorisation. Most identified cases focus on a single valuable main metal, which was already previously recovered, and depositing the remaining mineral residue in a safe way. Additionally, a more holistic approach was identified recovering various metals and industrial minerals. In many cases, the metal grades in the commercial reprocessing operations have reached a similar level to lower grade metal mines. Companies focus on either mining, solely on tailings reprocessing, or both. lnternal development, mergers and acquisitions, and partnerships were utilized as strategies to enter the reprocessing business. The commercial examples demonstrate that tailings reprocessing can be profitable business, and even holistic utilization concepts with multiple products can be a feasible alternative despite adding complexity.