Ukraine is going to offer the United States industrial waste within the framework of the subsoil agreement
Ukraine, within the framework of the agreement on minerals, intends to offer the USA not only classic greenfield deposits, but also alternative sources of raw materials – tailings and waste from the mining and metallurgical complex. “What was considered ballast for decades is actually a new raw material base: without opening new quarries, we can obtain strategic metals for batteries, electronics, aviation and the defense industry – and at the same time neutralize negative historical environmental consequences”, Yehor Perelyhin said.
He explained that thermal power plant ash is a source of gallium, scandium and germanium, which can be extracted using modular plants. The tailings of metallurgical ores contain “lost” cobalt, tellurium, vanadium, tungsten, and sometimes even gold and silver. Among other possible directions are tailings of mineral sands, “red mud”, which is formed during the production of alumina, phosphogypsum, which is a by-product in the production of fertilizers, as well as waste from the mining and processing of uranium.
According to Perelygin, waste processing has a number of advantages over the development of new deposits: it is faster and cheaper thanks to the already existing infrastructure, power grids and logistics. In addition, this approach will reduce the area of disturbed land, dispose of dangerous sludge and reduce the risks of environmental accidents.
