As part of the EU-funded RAWMINA project, Spanish mining company, Cobre Las Cruces (CLC), will test new technologies that seek to extract cobalt, tungsten, gold, silver from mine waste.

The pioneering extraction methods will provide critical raw materials that are essential for energy transition; both for the development of renewable energies and for new energy storage systems, such as electric vehicle batteries.

One of these methods is bioleaching: a hydrometallurgical process using microorganisms to extract metals from rocks. Compared to conventional metallurgical processes, bioleaching offers benefits such as lower energy and chemical consumption, reduced CO2 footprint and lower capital and operational costs.

The test will be conducted at the pilot plant built in 2016 by CLC as part of its future polymetallic refinery project.

Having the capacity to produce the raw materials that are critical to the energy transition from mine waste could also help reduce European dependence on external markets, such as China. The RAWMINA project got underway in 2021 and is now entering its final phase.