Tailings present toxic health hazards and long-term rehabilitation challenges, not to mention the risk of catastrophic dam failures, so it’s understandable that they’re viewed as a necessary evil.
But what if tailings could be an opportunity, not a curse? And what if the potential to monetise tailings safely, and in an eco-conscious way, could be baked into mining projects from the outset?
This is the concept of tailings valorisation, and although in its infancy, scientists and engineers have already found numerous processes that go beyond reprocessing tailings to recover more metals. For instance, aggregates, construction materials and industrial minerals, and even lime, gypsum, or organic matter can be recovered and used in soil amendment or land reclamation projects(Guthrie, 2023.).
More so, the evaluation of existing tailing deposits showed that they are the most potential secondary sources of REE due to their volumes and concentrations with increasing commercial interest(Hajdu-Rahkama & Kinnunen, 2025).
What’s a key challenge you think needs to be overcome to make this practice widespread? Share your insights!
Reference:
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Guthrie, C. (n.d.). Turning tailings waste into value.
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Hajdu-Rahkama, R., & Kinnunen, P. (2025). Tailings valorisation: Opportunities to secure rare earth supply and make mining environmentally more sustainable. Journal of Cleaner Production, 520, 146147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2025.146147
