As part of the Waste2CRM project, we are imlementing important stage of technological research carried out within WP3: Evaluation of physical methods for obtaining initial concentrates of selected critical raw materials.
Under the leadership of Łukasiewicz – Instytut Metali Nieżelaznych , beneficiation tests of coal mining waste are being carried out using physical and physicochemical methods. The aim of these studies is to verify whether waste materials from coal mining can be used to obtain fractions enriched in selected critical raw materials, in particular rare earth elements – REEs.
This is one of the key steps in assessing whether mining waste can become a real alternative source of critical raw materials for the European economy. The results of the tests will help us better understand how REEs are associated within the investigated materials and determine whether preliminary beneficiation can improve the efficiency of subsequent recovery stages, including hydrometallurgical processes.
Waste is not always the end of the process – sometimes it can be the beginning of a new raw material value chain.
