Read the deposit
Build a representative material picture: mineralogy, particle-size distribution, geochemistry, moisture, reactivity and variability across the storage history.
Engineering decision path
Assessment Framework
Use this framework to move from a residue opportunity to a defensible next decision. It is a screening and scoping tool: progress each pathway only when the material evidence, performance case and deployment context support it.
The decision path
Turn a residue question into a defensible pathway.
Find the gates
Separate pathways that are chemically plausible from those limited by release behaviour, processing intensity, logistics, approvals or regulation.
Test the material
Design test work around the actual decision: separation, activation, blending, mechanical performance, durability and environmental stability.
Prove the fit
Connect the technical result to product specification, market, approvals, quality controls, water balance, project delivery and closure outcomes.
Decision discipline: a positive laboratory result is a reason to progress—not evidence that the pathway will transfer unchanged to another tailings stream.
Waste2Resource lens
Use cases are only useful when their constraints travel with them.
Read each record as an engineering starting point.
The framework surfaces the variables that determine whether a pathway is practical at another site. It does not turn a published result into a transferable specification.
01 / Material domain
What is the residue?
Mineralogy, PSD, moisture, sulphur and carbonate balance, residual reagents, metal inventory and variability.
- Representative sampling basis
- Geochemical characterisation
- Physical and mineralogical data
02 / Performance case
Does it perform?
Functional properties must be considered beside release behaviour, durability, processing intensity and product requirements.
- Leachability and exposure route
- Strength, permeability or reactivity
- Quality-assurance evidence
03 / Deployment context
Can it be deployed?
Reuse sits inside permitting, logistics, market demand, closure objectives, water balance and social licence.
- Regulatory pathway
- Scale and material handling
- Lifecycle and closure fit
Before progressing
Questions that should survive the first promising result.
Representativeness
Does the sample reflect spatial, temporal and operational variability?
Does the sample reflect spatial, temporal and operational variability?
Environmental behaviour
Are release mechanisms understood for the proposed exposure scenario?
Are release mechanisms understood for the proposed exposure scenario?
Product performance
Are durability and specification requirements tested, not assumed?
Are durability and specification requirements tested, not assumed?
Processing burden
What energy, water, reagents and secondary wastes are introduced?
What energy, water, reagents and secondary wastes are introduced?
Logistics and market
Does demand exist near enough to the material at the relevant scale?
Does demand exist near enough to the material at the relevant scale?
Approvals and assurance
Can the pathway be permitted, specified and quality-controlled?
Can the pathway be permitted, specified and quality-controlled?