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.
Many metals that are now considered critical for our civilization were discarded as mining waste in the past. When they are discarded as mining waste, these metals are usually strongly bonded to sulphur in minerals or occluded, which makes obtaining them very difficult.
In December 2023, the European Union adopted the Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) to secure essential resources for its energy transition and strategic sectors like aerospace and healthcare
Bioleaching is a hydrometallurgical process using microorganisms to extract metals from rocks. Even if it is slower than some other chemical leaching technologies, bioleaching offers several advantages compared to conventional metallurgical processes, such as lower energy and chemical consumption, lower CO2 footprint and lower capital and operational costs.
Blanca Perdigones reports that the University of Seville (USE) team visited the facilities of Atalaya Mining S.A. at the start of February, which allowed them to disseminate the key aspects of the RAWMINA project to the company as a potential final user.
On Thursday, 16 November, during the 2023 edition of the Raw Materials Week, the twelve EU funded projects that constitute the Cluster Hub ‘Materials for batteries’ gathered for their annual event in Brussels.
Cobre Las Cruces (CLC), situated in the Seville province of Spain across the municipalities of Gerena, Salteras, and Guillena, is a leading example in the global mining industry when it comes to cutting-edge technology and environmentally responsible practices.
The CriticalRawMaterials Act is a new legislation aims to secure the supply of essential raw materials for EU industries while promoting sustainable sourcing and Responsible Mining practices.
