Chile’s Corfo Launches Program to Extract Critical Minerals from Mine Waste Tailings

Highlights

• Corfo initiates $3-4 million program to extract strategic minerals from mining waste tailings.
• Chile aims to recover critical materials for electric vehicle batteries and renewable energy technologies.
• Mining Minister announces upcoming regulatory reforms for modernizing mining waste management.

Chile’s national development agency, Corfo (opens in a new tab), has launched a program to promote the extraction of strategic minerals, such as cobalt and rare earth elements, from the country’s nearly 800 mining waste tailings. With funding of $3-4 million per project over three years, the initiative aims to foster innovation and sustainable mining technologies. It responds to the rising demand for materials critical to the global energy transition, including electric vehicle batteries and renewable energy technologies.

Mining Minister Aurora Williams (opens in a new tab) highlighted the overlooked value of older tailings and announced upcoming regulatory reforms, set for March, to modernize the management and reuse of mining waste. Corfo’s Technological Capabilities lead, Fernando Hentzschel (opens in a new tab), emphasized scaling up small-scale extraction technologies for cobalt as part of the broader effort to enhance resource efficiency and address environmental challenges in Chile, the world’s largest copper producer.

The news was covered by Reuters and Mining.com (opens in a new tab).