Rio Tinto, OZ Minerals and Boliden collaborate to develop sustainable tailings management technologies

Under the umbrella of the Think & Act Differently (TAD) incubator initiative, OZ Minerals, Boliden and Rio Tinto will fund and support innovators who are working to reimagine mining and processing to eliminate, minimise, reuse or find value in mine tailings. The three companies will also collaborate on other selected innovations to pursue improved productivity, while delivering benefits such as lower emissions and reduced waste.

Michelle Ash, OZ Minerals’ Technology Executive said:

“We can accelerate technology much faster by working together and this is an example of how the industry can collaborate to support technology development. We hope this way of working and supporting innovators provides a model that can be replicated because accelerated technology development is likely to have a positive impact on our industry and society.”

Joanna Lindahl, Boliden Mines’ Sustainability Director added:

“By collaboration on generic challenges for the mining industry in a pre-competitive setting, we will be able to make progress faster and more resource efficient. For the inventors and start-up companies in the TAD incubator, it is also an excellent opportunity to get insights and business understanding from several different mining companies. We are very much looking forward for this collaboration and hope to find new opportunities to strengthen the industry in the future.”

Mark Davies, Chief Technical Officer for Rio Tinto added;

“It isn’t very often that competitors come together to collaborate on industry-critical work. One such area historically has been health, safety & environment, where we learned that sharing leading practices boosts our collective performance. We think collaborating on tailings management capability improvement could have a similar, industry-wide impact. We’re excited to be partnering with Boliden and OZ Minerals through the TAD program.”

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/mining/07122022/rio-tinto-oz-minerals-and-boliden-collaborate-to-develop-sustainable-tailings-management-technologies/