LLC KRYVBAS ECOTECHNOLOGIES has agreed on a partnership with the Scientific Research Mining Institute of Kryvyi Rih National University (SRMI KNU), Rudomain LLC, the Ukrainian Mining Company, and enterprises of the Metinvest Group. The cooperation covers joint research into the processing and utilisation of mining and metallurgical complex waste – both within international Horizon Europe projects and under initiative-based research topics.

A scientific foundation with more than three decades of history

The partnership builds on SRMI KNU’s long-standing scientific work in the field of mining and metallurgical waste management. As far back as 1994, an institute team completed a thorough research project, “Study of Mining and Metallurgical Complex Waste and Development of Utilisation Methods”, which systematically assessed for the first time the volumes of waste generated by the Kryvbas ore-mining and processing plants, classified it by type of source material, and established the content of valuable components (gallium, nickel, chromium, boron, aluminium, zinc, cobalt, and others) in the sludge and slag of Ukrainian metallurgical enterprises.

For LLC KRYVBAS ECOTECHNOLOGIES, joining this cooperation is an opportunity to integrate a time-tested scientific approach into its own practical work on processing and utilising industrial waste across the region.

Areas of cooperation

Under the partnership, the parties have agreed to work together in the following areas:

• studying tailings storage facilities and waste dumps as technogenic deposits with a view to the further recovery of iron, scandium, rare-earth elements, and other valuable components;
• developing and trialling technologies for utilising metallurgical sludge and slag;
• geophysical monitoring of rock-mass stability at active and decommissioned facilities of partner enterprises;
• preparing joint applications for Horizon Europe calls and other international research-funding instruments in the field of the circular economy and responsible subsoil use;
• deploying the results of SRMI KNU’s initiative-based research topics at partners’ production sites, including those of LLC KRYVBAS ECOTECHNOLOGIES.

Company comment

“Kryvbas has accumulated billions of tonnes of technogenic raw material in the tailings storage facilities and waste dumps of the mining and metallurgical complex. We are convinced that part of this material can, and should, be turned into an economically and environmentally justified resource. Combining SRMI KNU’s scientific potential with the practical experience of our company and industry partners – Rudomain, the Ukrainian Mining Company, and Metinvest enterprises – will help accelerate the deployment of waste-processing technologies and contribute to the circular economy and environmental recovery of the Kryvbas region,” said the management of LLC KRYVBAS ECOTECHNOLOGIES.

Outlook

The partnership opens the way for LLC KRYVBAS ECOTECHNOLOGIES to take part in joint research projects, in particular on recovering critical raw materials from Kryvbas’s technogenic deposits, developing low-waste technologies, and restoring territories disturbed by mining operations. The company regards this cooperation as a strategic step towards scaling up its own industrial-waste processing activities and taking part in international Horizon Europe projects.