In Situ Resource Recovery from Waste Repositories: Exploring the Potential for Mobilization and Capture of Metals from Anthropogenic Ores

Wastes and the waste repositories in which they reside are becoming targets for resource recovery, both for legacy wastes and for future waste arisings as part of a desire to move toward a circular economy. There is an urgent requirement to explore concepts for practicable technologies that can be applied to these ends. This paper presents a synthesis of concepts concerning in situ technologies (developed from mining and contaminated land remediation industries) that have enormous potential for application to technospheric mining. Furthermore, potential target waste streams and their mineralogy and character are presented along with a discussion concerning lixiviant and metal capture systems that could be applied. Issues of preferential flow (critical to the success of in situ techniques) and how to control it with engineering measures are discussed in detail. It is clear that in situ recovery of metals from anthropogenic ores is a novel technology area that links new sustainable remediation approaches for contaminated materials and technospheric mining for closing material loops, and warrants the further research and development of technologies applicable to major waste streams.

出于向循环经济转型的需求，无论是遗留废弃物还是未来产生的废弃物，废弃物及其所处的废弃物处置库正逐渐成为资源回收的目标。当下迫切需要探索可用于这些目的的实用技术理念。本文综合阐述了有关原位技术（源自采矿和污染土地修复行业）的理念，这些技术在技术圈采矿领域具有巨大的应用潜力。此外，本文还介绍了潜在的目标废物流及其矿物学特征，并探讨了可应用的浸出剂和金属捕获系统。文中详细讨论了优先流问题（这对原位技术的成功至关重要）以及如何通过工程措施对其进行控制。显然，从人为矿石中原位回收金属是一个新兴的技术领域，它将针对污染材料的新型可持续修复方法与旨在闭合材料循环的技术圈采矿联系起来，值得进一步研究和开发适用于主要废物流的技术。