Gold in the Mud How Australia Is Turning Tailings Into Treasure and Rewiring Mines with Digital Smarts

There is a quiet but far-reaching revolution underway in mining. From the Pilbara to the Cadia belt to remote goldfields around Australia, operators, technology companies and research institutions are piloting how to use old tailings as feedstock, not landfill. The motivations are realistic: declining ore grades, surging demand for key minerals, better social licence and more acute regulation. New process technologies (from enhanced flotation and hydrometallurgy to biological leaching and patented chemical-free processes) are able to recover metals previously not considered economic. Meanwhile, information, digital twins and high-tech monitoring systems are making reprocessing and tailings management more reliable and safe.This report describes the technical choices, outlines the economics and business models, and delves into four Australia-focused case studies: Wiluna Mining’s retreatment project, EnviroGold’s NVRO demonstrations, Cadia’s automation initiatives and Fortescue’s electric/autonomous haulage plans. It concludes with actionable policy and industry recommendations to accelerate a commercially resilient, socially acceptable path to circular-thinking mining in Australia. ( Reuters, CSIRO)Tailings are the powdered rock remaining after minerals have been released during processing of the ore. Traditionally, tailings were piped into engineered (and sometimes unengineered) storage facilities and left there. But two factors have altered the way the industry perceives them.

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