Near-zero-waste recycling of low-grade sulphidic mining waste for critical-metal, mineral and construction raw-material production in a circular economy

Very selective process developed to recover germanium from iron-rich solutions

Germanium is a precious metal which is mainly used as a semiconductor in electronics and infrared op...
NEMO partners meeting in Espoo, Finland (24-25 April 2019)

The 12 month NEMO project meeting took place on 24 and 25 April, 2019. The meeting was hosted by VTT...
Selective metal recovery from Fe-rich industrial residues

Within the EU H2020 SOCRATES project, SIM² KU Leuven developed a process to selectively recover lead...
Why restricting lead (Pb) metallurgy is a bad idea

Recently the use of lead is being called into question by some policy makers. To provide a firm meta...
Selective REE recovery from bauxite residue slags

In the framework of ETN REDMUD, an integrated process was developed by KU Leuven and RWTH Aachen to...

Sulfidic mining waste from the production of Cu, Pb, Zn and Ni represents the largest volume of extractive waste in Europe. When poorly managed, these “tailings” may cause major environmental problems such as acid mine drainage. NEMO is the EU Horizon 2020 project that develops, demonstrates and exploits new ways to valorise sulfidic tailings. NEMO includes two case-studies: the Sotkamo Ni-Cu-Zn-REE/Sc mine in Finland and the Las Cruces Cu mine in Spain. NEMO’s benefits include the generation of new resources, CO2 savings from metal recovery and the replacement of Ordinary Portland Cement, as well as new jobs and revenues. NEMO will eradicate acid-mine drainage and other environmental issues, while ensuring an enhanced dialogue between industry and civil society, to obtain and maintain the License to Operate in the EU.