New research unveils a method to recover valuable minerals and water from mining waste

A Danish – South African research team suggests new ways to convert polluted waste from mining into water and valuable minerals. Read the team’s press release, developed during Danida Fellowship Centre’s training, “Bridging the Gap: Science for the Public,” which focuses on enhancing researchers collaboration with the media.

While South Africa has remarkable mineral wealth, poor mining and resource management has left a large portion of its lakes, rivers and other water sources polluted.

A new research project “Environmentally and economically sustainable water treatment system for post-mining waste” aims to solve the pollution problems by combining a series of profitable processes.

First, the researchers want to extract valuable elements from the mining waste. These elements can be used, for example, in mobile phones, computers and other modern electronics.

Second, the researchers will use an organic feedstock like cellulose to feed a bioreactor that produces better quality biofuel and cleans the water. On a larger scale, this type of treatment would be cheaper than conventional ways of cleaning the polluted water.

These new ways of treating polluted water will hugely affect people living nearby the mining sites. Rather than having polluted waters and soils, they’ll be able to safely use the environment, says Professor Peter Holm, one of the researchers behind the new project.

The new project will start soon as a collaboration between South African and Danish universities and companies with funding from Danida.

Read more about the research project Environmentally and economically sustainable water treatment system for post-mining waste.

 

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