P2Cu-5 - Recycling and Circular Economy Integration: Utilizing Copper Tailings in Electrical Earthing to Reduce Copper Usage.

Our project introduces an energy-efficient, innovative and environmentally friendly way to process waste tailings and convert them into materials that can safely and effectively reduce or even replace copper in specific electrical applications, such as electrical earthing. By chemically treating old mine tailings, we can create high-performance backfill materials that offer enhanced electrical conductivity, which may significantly reduce the usage of copper, at a much lower cost. The project will explore ways to use these processed materials, both as backfill material for earthing systems and in the form of material-filled trenches, to replace or minimize copper cables in certain low- and medium-voltage power systems, reducing copper demand even further. Currently, similar efforts have been made using natural clays, such as bentonite.