Valorisation of mine waste - Part II: Resource evaluation for consolidated and mineralised mine waste using the Central African Copperbelt as an example.

Mine waste can create long-term and occasionally catastrophic environmental degradation. Due diligence of mine waste in the form of monitoring and maintenance requires a constant supply of societal resources. Furthermore, mine waste is unlikely to disappear with current mining methods and instead, it is more likely to accumulate at a faster rate due to decreasing primary ore grades and increasing societal demands.

Valorisation of mine waste - Part I: Characteristics of, and sampling methodology for, consolidated mineralised tailings by using Witwatersrand gold mines (South Africa) as an example.

The quest for steady primary supplies of critical raw materials (CRMs) creates significant waste, which is inevitably generated at each phase of mining and mineral processing. Waste from extraction, separation and refinement of non-renewable natural resources is accumulated globally and creates not only environmental hazards but also economic possibilities. Mine waste management is an expensive and prolonged task but unavoidable.