Integrated multidisciplinary approach for reusing mining waste as resource

A smart economy minimizes the production of waste and reuses waste as a potential resource, moving towards a near-zero waste society. Mining waste not of interest for steel industry due to their low iron content and need of prior ore dressing, are dumped in overburden dumps as waste and can find a valuable use in applications other than mining industry. The wastes having higher percentage of Fe, Mn and Al oxy-hydroxides, are materials widely used as adsorption filters for metals and metalloids, especially arsenic (As), in drinking water treatments. In addition, due to chemical similarity between arsenate and phosphate, their application in P-recovery, from treated wastewater, where phosphate is present at high concentration, has recently gained attention since P is a critical raw material and an essential and limited resource. Aim of our research is to individuate suitable waste mining materials of iron ore for the efficient reuse in water treatment, in particular for the removal of As and extraction of P.