The mining sector faces a critical paradox: surging demand for metals essential to the energy transition is generating unprecedented volumes of tailings waste, while communities and regulators demand safer, more sustainable approaches to disposal. In a recent article published in the Engineering & Mining Journal, Clareo’s Satish Rao and Grant Caffery explore how the industry can navigate this challenge through their recent whitepaper.
The article examines a continuum of solutions, from incremental improvements like dewatering and coarse particle flotation to transformative approaches such as in-situ recovery and advanced leaching technologies. Rather than viewing tailings as an unavoidable byproduct, Rao and Caffery reframe them as inefficiency—grinding 99.5% of material to extract 0.5% of valuable minerals represents a fundamental operational challenge.
Their analysis presents five pathways toward zero waste: optimizing recovery, eliminating waste early, processing everything, transforming leaching, and implementing in-situ recovery. Each pathway offers different timelines and technical requirements, but all demand a shift from the industry’s traditional “build it big, build it to last” mentality toward modular, adaptable systems.
The article emphasizes that economics, not just environmental concerns, should drive adoption of these technologies. With declining ore grades forcing expansion of concentrators and shifting underground operations, mining companies have windows of opportunity to integrate innovative approaches. However, the biggest barrier remains mindset. As communities increasingly view tailings as “the line in the sand” for project approval, collaboration across miners, OEMs, regulators, and communities becomes essential to securing mining’s license to operate.
