Kick-off meeting of the SCIMIN-CRM project

The coming days 1 and 2 Octoberthe Fundación Asturiana de la Energía, will participate in the launch meeting of the SCIMIN-CRM Project to be held in Oviedo, the meeting's welcome will be attended by the Regional Minister for Ecological Transition, Industry and Economic Development, Energy and Industry, Nieves Roqueñí and the Vice-Rector for Research at the University of Oviedo, Irene Díaz Rodríguez.

SCIMIN-CRM refers to the initials of Sustainable & Circular Production of Mineral Critical Raw Materialswhich means Sustainable and Circular Production of Critical Mineral Raw Materials. The project will focus on the characterisation, valorisation, recovery, processing and utilisation of mining waste (tailings and tailings ponds) into recoverable resources.

The objective The final SCIMIN-CRM project will develop a step-by-step policy document to support case-by-case analysis and a collaborative digital platform for intelligent and individualised assessment, four state-of-the-art processing methodologies and the development of technologies for the valorisation of key raw materials. In addition, it will put everything into practice in various types of waste facilities in Spain (Principality of Asturias), Sweden, Austria and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Asturian pilot project will focus on the recovery of raw materials from fluorspar extraction waste.

The roadmap to be developed by the project team will prioritise the extraction of key raw materials such as fluorspar and barite, as well as strategic raw materials such as rare earths, copper and bauxite/aluminium, and other valuable and essential mineral raw materials such as aggregates, which are essential for cement and concrete, among other uses.

SCIMIN-CRM aims to boost EU countries' access to raw materials, improve economic performance, increase recovery rates of mining materials and ensure responsible supply, thus contributing to long-term sustainability and competitiveness.