Assessing cobalt mobility in an uncontained tailings deposit using XANES- implications for recovery potential and environmental risk. (2026)
Abstract
Recovery of critical metals, such as cobalt, from tailings presents a circular economy strategy for reducing waste, enabling environmental rehabilitation and contributing to a domestic supply of critical metals. Tailings and associated weathering products, hardpan and efflorescent salts, are fine-grained, with complex textures and mineralogy and abundant amorphous secondary minerals. Defining the tenor and deportment of cobalt, which is vital for establishing reprocessing potential, is challenging. Spectroscopic overlaps of cobalt and iron pose further difficulties. We propose using XANES to resolve these challenges, enabling an understanding of cobalt speciation and distribution for assessing metal mobility, targeted recovery and environmental rehabilitation.
