SCIMIN-CRM (Sustainable & Circular Production of Mineral Critical Raw Materials)
Extractive industries have generated vast amounts of Mining Waste Facilities (MWFs) - waste deposits of materials once considered unusable due to technological constraints. In the EU, 100,000 MWFs are estimated, which contain massive quantities of valuable raw materials that were not extracted at the time of initial exploitation.
The protect SCIMIN-CRM aims to develop recovery pathways for this large, yet unused potential. For this purpose, four European MWF pilot sites are analysed in detail for their raw material contents, possible mining and extraction strategies. Reprocessing MWFs holds several advantages to conventional mining, as the rock mass is already fragmented and only requires further processing. Furthermore, MWF recovery can also play a crucial role for the environmental remediation of contaminated mine sites, often seen as ecological scars. By integrating sustainable practices, SCIMIN-CRM targets not only the production of critical raw materials, but also a contribution to more responsible mining.
Contact Person
Priv.-Doz. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.mont. Philipp Hartlieb - Chair of Mineral Engineering and Mineral Economics
E-Mail: philipp.hartlieb(at)unileoben.ac.at
Tel.: +43 3842 402 2025
Other involved chairs: Geology and Economic Geology, Nonferrous Metallurgy
Metrologie für das Recycling von technologie-kritischen Elementen zur Unterstützung der europäischen Kreislaufwirtschaft
Technology critical elements (TCEs) are vastly used throughout society; including phones, computers, and renewable energy products, such as solar panels and wind turbines. In 2017, the European Commission issued new targets for recycling TCE containing waste, however progress towards this goal is limited due to low availability of standards for quantification of these elements in urban mine waste matrices – a substantially challenging matrix due to the high heterogeneity of samples.
As such, the aim of this collaborative project was to develop new, SI traceable reference materials and methodology for accurate and precise quantification of TCEs in urban mine waste to aid with new recycling strategies. Our primary aim was to explore the use of tandem ICP-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS/MS) and x-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) measurement approaches for urban mine waste matrices. Consequently, new sample preparation strategies, including the use of pressurized microwave digestion, were developed.
Contact Person
Assoz.Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr.nat.techn. Johanna Irrgeher - Chair of General and Analytical Chemistry
E-Mail: johanna.irrgeher(at)unileoben.ac.at
Tel.: +43 3842 402 1204