“recomine” – Sustainable Recycling of Contaminated Mine Waste with a Combination of Environmental Technology, Resource Technology and Digitalization

Abandoned contaminated mining sites such as heaps or slag usually cause major environmental problems, which are or have been rehabilitated in Germany by the government with large amount of taxes. However, they usually also contain significant amounts of urgently needed strategic raw materials and consist mainly of mineral components that can be used in the ceramics or construction materials industry. These components are not won as part of traditional coverage rehabilitation. “recomine” is a WIR! association of over 70 partnering institutions, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), that deals with the global challenges of contaminated soils and works on innovative, comprehensive concepts regarding their handling. For this matter, the association merges a vast know-how in the Erzgebirge region. The partnering institutions in the fields of environmental, and resource technology, digitalization, construction materials, and community are working together with the aim of marketing the developed, holistic concepts worldwide. First international success was achieved at the BHP Tailings Challenge where the recomine team was chosen by the raw materials conglomerate BHP as one of ten teams out of 153 international contenders for the ongoing proof-of-concept phase.