News

Registrations are open for the Lunch Event "Recycling mining waste, a new business? (27 April 2021, 12.30-13.30 pm CET). Three experts will share their views on the recycling of mining waste, covering a variety of case studies.

Within the framework of the MSCA-ETN SULTAN project SIM² KU Leuven researchers have characterised the historic Zn-Pb mine waste from the tailings pond located at Plombières, East Belgium. The work was published in Minerals.

SOLVOMET/SIM2 KU Leuven researchers developed a process to remove trace concentrations of Cd, Zn and Mn from simulated diluted mine waters via foam separation. The work was published in the Journal of Sustainable Metallurgy.

Within EU NEMO a bioheapleaching pilot started its operations at the Sotkamo mine in Finland. Its aim is to improve the secondary bioheapleaching process at the mine, boosting the recovery of metals and the removal of sulphides.

SIM²/SOLVOMET researcher Panagiotis Xanthopoulos (ETN SULTAN) has been awarded the Best Oral Presentation Award at the 2020 International AMD online conference “Mine-impacted Water: From Waste to Resource” (SAIMM).

In the framework of ETN SULTAN, SIM² KU Leuven researchers have assessed the chemical and mineralogical characterisation of sulphidic mine waste to understand the environmental & health risks of the metals within the mine waste.

SULTAN researcher Francisco Veiga Simão will talk about "Turning mining waste into ceramic resources" during the Young Ceramists Network (YCN) webinar on 15 December

A joint team of SIM² KU Leuven/SOLVOMET & ArcelorMittal researchers have just published a critical review paper on the hydrometallurgical recovery of metals from steel industry by-products in the Journal of Sustainable Metallurgy.

Towards an environmentally sustainable transformation of tailings and mine waste: circular economy and future vision

In March 2015 the Journal of Sustainable Metallurgy (JSM) launched its first issue. Now, just more than 5 years, JSM obtained its first Impact Factor. With a score of 2,109, the journal ranks second among TMS journals for 2019.

A research paper by EU MSCA-ETN SOCRATES researchers was applauded as a 2020 HOT Green Chemistry article. In this paper the authors developed novel methods for selective gold extraction from hydrometallurgical solutions.

“The Missing Link of the Circular Economy 2.0” video shows why the waste of the past cannot be consigned to oblivion. A comprehensive Circular Economy vision should, therefore, find answers for Europe’s 500,000+ landfills.

How feasible is the transition to a climate-neutral economy (European Green Deal) in terms of the availability of the required (critical) metals? During the March 12 Seminar in Brussels an expert panel tried to provide answers.

SULTAN project poster

Researchers from the SREMat Group (SIM² KU Leuven) have published a critical review paper on the potential transformation of bauxite residue (“red mud”) into valuable building materials, trying to “put things in perspective”.

“The Dark Side of the Circular Economy” is the title of the ELFM V Symposium Aftermovie (5-2-2020). Referring to the EC’s pending Circular Economy Action Plan the video highlights one major blind spot in this plan. How will we deal with the waste of the past?

"Inconvenient truths of the circular economy" is the title of an interview with prof. Markus Reuter for the Aurubis magazine in which the main challenges and opportunities of recycling and the circular economy are analyzed.

Methanesulfonic acid (MSA) has proven again to be a suitable lixiviant for the recovery of valuable metals. Within the SMART project, the SOLVOMET group has developed a solvometallurgical process for the selective recovery of lead and silver from industrial residues.

The Detritus Journal dedicated a special issue on resource recovery through Enhanced Landfill Mining (December 2019). It includes the results of the NEW-MINE project. These and other findings will be debated during the Fifth ELFM Symposium on February 6, 2020 in Leuven (Belgium).

Abandoned, historical mines can be found all over Europe. Waste present at these sites can cause major environmental problems, with the most commonly known example being acid mine drainage. But is there any business opportunity in re-mining these historical dump sites?