Researchers have developed a new framework that could help transform one of the world’s largest waste streams into a valuable resource for the construction industry.
Mine tailings, the leftover material from mining, are produced in vast quantities every year and are typically stored in large facilities with limited long-term use.
Globally, they represent the largest industrial waste stream and can pose serious environmental risks, including water contamination and long-term ecosystem damage.
Dr Ceren Ince from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh has created a practical way to assess and repurpose these materials, helping to bridge the gap between the mining and construction sectors.
Her mineral-based framework allows mine operators to analyse their waste and identify how it could be reused as a component in cement and other construction materials.
Dr Ince said: “Mining produces enormous volumes of waste, but much of that material still contains useful components.
“Our framework provides a structured method to unlock that potential consistently and reliably.
“Rather than being tailored to a specific site or mineral, the system offers a general method for categorizing tailings and linking them to sustainable treatment approaches.”
Ince and her colleagues conducted a large-scale analysis of more than 5,000 studies on mine tailings and mineral waste, capturing the wide variation in materials produced around the world.
Dr Ince said: “We use a material’s mineral composition, its fingerprint, as the starting point for decision making.
“The fingerprint tells us how the tailings are likely to behave when processed, and whether they can be transformed into a cement-like material.
“We are not complicating things; this will give waste managers a framework to repurpose their tailings.”
The research comes at a time when the mining and construction sectors are under pressure to reduce their environmental impact.
Cement production alone is responsible for around eight percent of global carbon emissions, while demand for critical minerals is expected to increase significantly as countries move towards net zero.
Dr Ince said: “This creates an opportunity to rethink how we see mine waste. Instead of something that needs to be stored indefinitely, it can become part of a circular system where materials are reused and given a second life.”
Dr Ince added: “Mining will continue to expand. The question is how we manage the materials that come with it.
“This framework is one step towards a more sustainable approach, where waste becomes part of a wider resource system.”
Dr Ceren Ince is currently undertaking research on mine tailings across Scotland to further strengthen the framework, and initiating efforts to develop tailored approaches for complex critical mineral tailings.
Companies and organizations interested in using the framework should contact Dr Ceren Ince on [email protected].
The research was funded by the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) through a Research Collaboration Grant (Ref: RSE 6037) for the project “ACT Scotland: From Classification to Activation of Mine Tailings for Sustainable Resource Recovery.” Additional support was provided by the Heriot-Watt University Small Project Grants Scheme for the project “Mining the Future of Cement: Revealing the Potential of Scotland’s Gold Tailings for Binder Precursors.”