SDC News One | Mining Arizona’s hidden treasures
Cobalt, Lithium, Gallium and other rare earth elements like Neodymium and Yttrium, are currently being discarded in Copper mine tailings
Mining Arizona’s hidden treasure
University researchers partner with mining community to explore ways to repurpose copper mining waste rock
September 28, 2023
Arizona public university researchers are partnering with the State Mine Inspector and mining community to find new ways to reuse copper tailings, the waste rock left behind after mining the ore.
It’s estimated that the past century of mining has led to 17.5 billion tons of copper tailings, which is usually pulverized to the size of fine sand.
With support from a $3.6 million Regents’ Research Grant approved by the Arizona Board of Regents Thursday, university researchers plan to assess the metal content from this waste rock in search of critical elements such as lithium, which are used in everything from cell phones to electric vehicles and pacemakers. This interdisciplinary project will draw on the expertise of a total of 13 faculty and staff in nine departments across all three Arizona public universities.
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