SMARTTEST – Smart Circular Economy Field Testing Facility for Extractive Waste and Side Streams

Introduction

Management of extractive waste plays a critical role in the environmental safety, social acceptability, and economic viability of mining. Waste management solutions need to be tailored based on the waste characteristics and with mine closure in mind. Resource efficiency and the need for virgin material resources in mining industry can be improved by utilizing circular economy materials. This requires testing of the characteristics and the long-term behavior of extractive waste and side streams already in the early stages of the mine lifecycle.

SMARTTEST develops a flexibly customizable and comprehensively instrumented field-testing concept for side streams and mining waste. The project will pilot the field-testing concept through field tests focusing on different management solutions, taking advantage of both large-scale (9–18 m3) and smaller-scale (1 m3) tests to be run over a period of about two years.

The field-testing facility will be located at GTK Mintec’s Outokumpu site, to enable long-term field testing of circular economy and extractive waste management solutions already when mineral processing is planned. SMARTTEST project will promote the circular economy and the environmentally sound management of extractive waste and, moreover, expand GTK Mintec’s opportunities for cooperation and development.

Project funding:

European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) – Regional Council of North-Karelia, Agnico Eagle Finland Oy, EPSE Oy, Fatec Oy, Kanteleen Voima Oy, Kemira Oyj, Mawson Oy, Sokli Oy, Geological Survey of Finland

Contact person: Juha Ovaskainen

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