G.E.O.S. presents cost-effective process for the extraction of strategic mineral resources at the RAWMINA project meeting in Seville / Spain

After 18 months, the consortium of the H2020 project RAWMINA is looking back at the first results. The EU-funded project RAWMINA deals with the development of an integrated innovative pilot system for the recovery of critical raw materials from mining waste in a circular economy context.

Mirko Martin and Dr. Jana Pinka from G.E.O.S. presented the first results at the project meeting in Seville, Spain, on 26/27 October 2022. As representatives of the Process Design/Biotechnology Department, they are in charge of the technical work on the separation of valuable metals from acidic leaching liquids containing iron and sulphate from mineral waste, such as copper and antimony. The ferrous minerals swordmannite and magnetite are also extracted as products.

The newly developed cost-effective process serves as the basis for the construction of a pilot plant with the project partners in Spain and France. With the new technology, costs are reduced using bio-hydrometallurgical processes compared to conventional processes and valuable materials are recovered from waste streams and returned to the material cycle.