Objectives

DISCOVER ION4RAW

Objective

Aware of the importance to ensure long-term availability of mineral resources but conscious about the high risks of supply disruption in Europe, IONRAW proposes an innovative, clean and sustainable solution: the recovery of mineral by-products from primary sources. In ION4RAW, the minerals by-products considered are minerals present in waste mineral deposits, thus being the by-products of primary extracted minerals.

Indeed, there is still untapped potential to extract strategic raw materials from mining waste and landfills in Europe. Extracting these materials has the potential to enhance the sustainability of mining activities in the EU, as well as contributing to a more circular economy.

In line with the “Resource Efficient Europe” objective of the EU Industrial Policy 2020, ION4RAW deploys an environmentally benign solution for a more sustainable use of raw materials.

How will ION4RAW unlock the full potential of mineral by-products from primary sources?

The ION4RAW process is an ambitious initiative that results from the integration of different disciplines, namely: Mineralogy, Metallurgy, Electrochemistry, Mathematical & modelling optimisation, Sustainable assessment methodology, and Process & Chemical engineering.

Below are the different steps that the ION4RAW process encompasses:

STEP 1

A COMPREHENSIVE BY-PRODUCT POTENTIAL IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT

In order to estimate the potential for the by-product recovery in Europe, a mapping of by-products in the EU is being produced within ION4RAW. The research includes information on existing but currently unexploited by-product resources in Europe, as well as characterisation and measurement of the by-products’ contents in the selected primary ores.

ACCESS MAPPING DELIVERABLE

STEP 2

A LAB-SCALE DEVELOPMENT OF AN INNOVATIVE IONOMETALLURGICAL PROCESS

The ION4RAW ionometallurgical process is meant to maximise the recovery of metal by-products from primary sources. It also targets the recovery of by products that cannot be recovered with current technologies.

To do so, the ION4RAW innovative process combines two methods: the use of innovative, environmentally benign and biodegradable Deep Eutectic Solvents (DES) processed together with an advanced electrochemical method for metal recovery.

Discover more with our diagram on the link below

DISCOVER THE ION4RAW RECOVERY PROCESS

STEP 3

THE OPTIMISATION OF THE OVERALL ION4RAW PROCESS

To optimise the process and obtain the best compromise solution accounting for productivity, resource and cost efficiency, and environmental impact, our team will apply the comprehensive Multidisciplinary Design Optimization (MDO) approach.
The final solution is expect to improve the initially designed solution by 25%!

STEP 4

THE PROCESS DEMONSTRATION AND VALIDATION USING REAL SAMPLES

The prototype will be tested in TECNALIA facilities to test the process performances and quality in relevant environments. Real samples provided by Scotgold resources , Cumbres Exploraciones and Cobre las Cruces will be used.
TRL5 is the expected Technology Readiness level of ION4RAW process!

STEP 5

THE ASSESSMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL, ECONOMIC AND TECHNICAL SUSTAINABILITY

The ION4RAW process environmental impact will be compared with conventional by-products recovery routes. Emissions, energy and resource intensity will be analysed by means of a Life Cycle Assessment.

A comprehensive market analysis will be carried out, as well as a technical feasibility study. As a result, an exploitation plan assessing the market potentials, the business model, the financial projections and the commercialisation roadmaps will be developed.

Discover ION4RAW Decision Support System

Decision Support System

Our Decision Support System provides valuable insights into by-product availability and endowment, along with the correlation between ore deposit types and potential by-products within different mineral deposits.

DEEP EUTECTIC SOLVENTS - THE PROCESS

What minerals is ION4RAW targeting?

Most of the targeted by-products elements are defined by the European commission as Critical Raw Materials, including Bismuth (Bi), Indium (In), and Antimony (Sb). The project is also working to ensure that it fits within a system capable of recovering major product metals, notably Copper (Cu), Silver (Ag) and Gold (Au). Other non-critical by-product metals may also be recovered, including Tellurium (Te).

As the ION4RAW project has advanced the TRL of its iono-metallurgical technology, it has become more apparent which of the original thirteen metals considered at the onset of the project are most amenable to full-scale production using DES leaching and recovery.

Therefore Cobalt, Germanium, Molybdenum, Platinum, Rhenium, and Selenium are no longer targeted by the project since their recovery rates were not significant. The ultimate commercial viability of the ION4RAW process will depend largely on technical performance metrics (e.g. rate of recovery, rate of purity) and economic factors (e.g. cost of materials, energy requirements, solubility time).

Discover all ION4RAW targeted elements

Why should you be interested in ION4RAW ?

Mining companies
Authorities and policy makers
Research & academic scientific community
Citizens
End product manufacturers

Mining companies

ION4RAW allows mining companies to fully exploit by-product potential by recovering such by-products at their own facilities.

Authorities and policy makers

ION4RAW secures EU’s sustainable access to raw materials. By increasing by-products metal availability for EU, it reduces EU dependency on imports and strengthen EU competitiveness while minimising the environmental impact of mineral processing operations.

Research & academic scientific community

ION4RAW will advance research on Ionometallurgy process using Deep Eutectic Solvent (DES) ionic liquids and advanced electrochemical methods as an only step. ION4RAW also advances knowledge on raw materials’ availability in Europe.

Citizens

The long-term availability of mineral resources is essential to maintain our modern life. More details about the importance of minerals here.

End product manufacturers

ION4RAW process will reduce supply risk of raw materials recovered as by-products from primary sources and thus improve the market price stability.

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