Economic evaluation of critical and strategic minerals present in mining environmental liabilities in the Cananea-Nacozari mining region, Sonora, Mexico
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21701/bolgeomin/136.3/001Keywords:
Reutilization, Abandoned mining wastes, Potentially toxic elements, Tailings, Critical raw materialsAbstract
Some potentially toxic elements (PTE), such as Cu, Mo, Pb, Sb, and Zn contained in abandoned mining wastes (AMW), pose a permanent risk to health, biodiversity, and the environment. On the other hand, the demand for these elements, associated with a growing population and the planet's limited resources, represents a problem for the future supply of raw materials. This study explores the possibility of addressing both problems in an integrated approach, i.e., through the reuse of AMW based on the economic assessment of the critical and strategic minerals and precious metals (Au and Ag). The information was obtained from the inventory of mining environmental liabilities carried out in the Cananea-Nacozari mining region in northern Mexico, where the total contents of the elements present in the AMW were quantified. The volume was calculated, and with the specific density, the tonnage of the mineral per element of interest was calculated, thus identifying that 35 % of the inventoried AMW are suitable for remining substances such as Au, Ag, Cu, Mo, Pb, Sb, and Zn, since AMW were found with calculated economic values ranging from 2 383 USD to 598 million dollars. The results suggest that it is possible to reuse AMW, incorporating them into the current environmental regulatory framework and contributing to the circular economy. While at the same time addressing the problems of pollution caused by AMW and the shortage of materials of concern to society.
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