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.
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)
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