European Training Network for Zero-Waste Valorisation of Bauxite Residue (Red Mud)

On 21 Feb’ 2017, SIM² KU Leuven attended the closing conference of the INSPIRE project in Cardiff (Wales). Joris Roosen presented KU Leuven’s perspective on the challenges for the zero-waste valorisation of low-grade resources.

In this article “Five lessons learned” Peter Tom Jones reflects on the Artefact Symposium on the Social License to Operate for mining & recycling of critical metals and summarises some key take-home messages. Reactions are welcome.

In this article “Six lessons learned” Peter Tom Jones reflects on the 4th International Enhanced Landfill Mining (ELFM IV) Symposium and summarises some key take-home messages. Quo vadis for ELFM? Reactions are welcome.

In the context of the EU Horizon 2020 MSCA-ETN REDMUD project, KU Leuven researchers have published a new method to extract rare earths (REEs) from bauxite residue (red mud) by dry digestion followed by water leaching.

The ELFM IV organising committee has released a 5-minute video (Feb’ 2018), which integrates multiple testimonials and perspectives from the EC, national public bodies, academia, industry and civil society. A great executive summary!

Following their previous, widely-cited work with respect to the rare-earth element Balance Problem, Prof. Binnemans and colleagues have just published a thorough update of this key issue in the Journal of Sustainable Metallurgy.

On February 8, 2018, Umicore reported a net profit of 267 million euro in 2017. Concurrently, Umicore announced an investment of 660 million euro to ramp up the production of battery (cathode) materials for a.o. electric vehicles.

The organising committee of the ELFM IV Symposium (Feb’ 5-6, 2018) is happy to share the ELFM IV Symposium Book (ed. Jones & Machiels, Feb’ 2018). ELFM IV offers a total of 50 papers, grouped according to 4 thematic categories.

How do you get aluminium from bauxite? Pritii Tam explains…

Dzenita Kasapovic recounts the life of Marie Skłodowska-Curie