Mining and Mineral Processing Waste: Transition Towards a Circular Economy

Dear Colleagues,

More than 70 years ago, V. Vernadsky, who created the holistic doctrine of the Biosphere and the Noosphere, stated that “Humankind is a geological force transforming the face of our planet”. A vast amount of waste (e.g., mining tailing, mine drainage, etc.) has been generated globally during the last century as a result of mining and mineral processing, and this is expected to worsen with increasing resource and energy demand due to increasing population, industrialisation and urbanisation. The high amount of the materials mined or removed for extraction of Cu, Pb, Zn, Pb, Co, Au, Ag, and REE become waste. Therefore, the transition from the existing linear economy (take-make-dispose) to a circular economy in the mining and mineral processing industry (MMPI) is critical and timely. A holistic approach to integrating a circular economy, an alternative model of growth for a sustainable future, includes interconnection and developments in economics, environment, science, technology and innovation, government, society, and education.

This Special Issue is open to (but not limited to) articles related to the following research areas:

• Strategies adopting a circular economy approach to MMPIs, minimising their negative effects, sharing the best practice, and reducing waste;
• Mining and Mineral Processing Waste: circular economy solutions;
• Synergistic solutions, such as industrial symbiosis, for reducing and/or reusing waste;
• Sustainable materials and processes for valuable element extraction from Mining and Mineral Processing Waste.

Dr. Anna Bogush
Prof. Dr. Tongsheng Zhang
Dr. Elena Khayrulina
Guest Editors

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