RECYCLE AND REUSE
Recycling Reduces Pressure
on Primary Metals Producers
E&MJ explores the potential for metals recycling to enhance traditional
mining business models
By Carly Leonida, European Editor
On September, 28, 2023, leaders from
50 countries came together for a first-
of-its-kind event hosted by the Interna-
tional Energy Agency (IEA). The Critical
Minerals and Clean Energy Summit built
upon the ministerial mandate given to
the IEA in 2022 to further its work on
critical minerals — the materials at the
According to the United Nations, 61.3 million mt of e-waste will be produced globally in 2023 – more than
the weight of the Great Wall of China. (Photo: Unsplash)
36 E&MJ • NOVEMBER 2023
heart of key clean energy technologies,
such as wind turbines, electric vehicles
(EV) and solar panels.
The IEA has been asked by govern-
ments around the world to make recom-
mendations on options to diversify sup-
plies of critical minerals and clean energy
technology manufacturing, and the sum-
mit followed the publication of the IEA’s
inaugural Critical Minerals Market Re-
view in July 2023.
The report showed that electric car
sales increased by 60% in 2022, exceeding
10 million units. Energy storage systems
experienced more rapid growth, with ca-
pacity additions doubling in 2022. Solar PV
installations continue to shatter previous re-
cords, and wind power is set to resume its
upward march after two subdued years.
All of this activity has led to a signifi-
cant increase in demand for critical min-
erals. From 2017 to 2022, demand from
the energy sector was the main factor
behind a tripling in overall demand for
lithium, a 70% jump in demand for cobalt
and a 40% rise in demand for nickel.
Driven by rising demand and high
prices, the market size of key energy tran-
sition minerals (as defined by the IEA)
doubled over the past five years, reach-
ing $320 billion in 2022 (broadly similar to
the market size for iron-ore mining). As a
result, energy transition minerals, which
used to be a small segment of the mar-
ket, are now moving to center stage in the
mining and metals industry.
Expanding Metals Supply
Scope
Devising new strategies to help meet this
wave of demand was at the center of dis-
cussions among participants at the Critical
Minerals and Clean Energy Summit, and
six key action areas were identified to
help alleviate pressure on primary metals
recovery, including: accelerating progress
towards diversified minerals supplies; un-
locking the power of technology and recy-
cling; promoting transparency in the mar-
kets; enhancing the availability of reliable
information; creating incentives for sustain-
able and responsible production; strength-
ening efforts on international collaboration.
“Participants underscored the impor-
tance of tapping the full potential of tech-
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nology and recycling to alleviate potential
strains on supply,” the IEA stated in its sum-
mary. “New technology can reduce energy
and water requirements in extraction and
processing, optimize extraction methods
and product design and end-of-life pro-
cesses to improve resource efficiency. The
IEA will also undertake an in-depth study
to examine effective approaches to recy-
cling covering all potential sources such as
e-waste, industry scrap, end-of-life batter-
ies, wind turbines and permanent magnets.”
In its October issue, E&MJ explored
the recycling of mine waste, specifical-
ly tailings, in depth, but tailings are only
one potential source of critical metals. For
some mining companies — mainly those
with vertically integrated business models
— the recycling of various waste materials
has been part of their revenue streams for
years. For instance, Boliden’s Rönnskär
copper smelter in northern Sweden began
recycling waste in the 1960s. Today, it’s
one of the world’s largest recyclers of met-
al from electronic material (e-waste) with
an annual capacity of 120,000 metric tons
(mt), including circuit boards from comput-
ers and mobile phones that are sourced
primarily from Europe.
According to Boliden, over 50 million
mt of e-waste are produced globally each
year, some of which ends up in landfill sites
where toxic chemicals can leach out over
time. e-waste can also find its way to de-
veloping countries where informal e-waste
processing can cause serious health and
pollution problems. Upgraded E-waste is
known as e-scrap, which is a source of
precious metals, such as gold and silver,
and base metals, such as copper, and this
is what is processed at Rönnskär.
Preparing for End-of-Life
EV Battery Wave
In a bid to increase their exposure to
critical metals and build greater circu-
larity into their business models, more
and more mining companies have an-
nounced plans to expand their scope of
supply over the past 24 months.
In May 2022, Glencore, which has
been a producer, recycler and market-
er of metals including nickel and cobalt
for years, and Li-Cycle Holdings Corp, a
global lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery resource
recovery company, announced a strategic
partnership under which Li-Cycle would
become a preferred partner for Glencore
in the Li-ion battery recycling sector.
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Glencore said it has been working to
establish regional platforms across the
world to localize battery raw material sup-
ply chains within key regions in a scalable
and sustainable manner. This would en-
able a set of key partners (of which Li-Cy-
cle is one) to connect to these platforms.
According to the IEA’s 2021 landmark
report “The role of critical minerals in
clean energy transitions,” although the
volume of Li-ion batteries available for
recycling or reuse today is modest and
largely dominated by batteries in waste
electronic products, the fast-paced
growth of EV sales and the demand for
energy storage will alter this situation sig-
nificantly by the end of the decade.
As the share of electric cars in the global
car stock grows from the 1% seen in 2021
to the anticipated 50% in 2040, an influx of
spent batteries is expected to arrive in the
market, and this could pose waste manage-
ment challenges. For example, when all the
electric cars sold in 2019 reach the end of
their lifetime, this would result in 500,000 mt
of unprocessed battery pack waste. Given
their seminal role in mineral and metal value
chains, and their increasing degree of col-
laboration with downstream players, mining
companies are well positioned to help tack-
le this challenge.
Through its strategic partnership with
Li-Cycle, Glencore is seeking to combine
primary and recycled battery raw mate-
rials to produce battery-grade end prod-
ucts. This will enable auto manufacturers
to meet their EV ambitions while also
meeting regulatory directives related to
battery raw materials. This will be facil-
itated through the localization of supply
chains and increasing recycled content
in battery raw materials over time.
“In Europe, Glencore will work to as-
sess the feasibility of utilizing its exist-
ing asset footprint with a view towards
re-purposing some of our assets. This
will reduce the lead time for achieving in-
dustrial scale production of battery grade
end products,” Glencore said in its press
release. “Glencore will also explore, to-
gether with other appropriate supply
chain partners, the production of precur-
sor cathode active material (pCAM) in
Europe and potentially North America.”
Glencore and Li-Cycle
Partner for Portovesme
Li-Cycle, which was established in 2016,
is working to create a domestic closed-
RECYCLE AND REUSE
loop battery supply chain. The company
leverages its innovative Spoke & Hub
Technologies to provide a safe, scalable,
customer-centric solution to recycle differ-
ent types of Li-ion batteries. Spoke & Hub
Technologies are based on a hydrometal-
lurgical process that provides an environ-
mentally friendly and cost-effective alter-
native to pyrometallurgical processing.
“At our Spokes, or pre-processing
facilities, we recycle battery manufac-
turing scrap and end-of-life batteries to
produce black mass, a powder-like sub-
stance which contains a number of valu-
able metals, including lithium, nickel and
cobalt. At our Hubs, or post-processing
facilities, we will process black mass to
produce battery-grade materials, includ-
ing lithium carbonate, nickel sulphate
and cobalt sulphate,” said Li-Cycle in its
marketing materials.
In September 2023, Li-Cycle and Glen-
core announced a two-phased approach
to develop the Portovesme Hub project
in Sardinia, Italy. Phase 1 will process up
to 11,000 mt of black mass annually and,
subject to regulatory approvals and agree-
ments, is expected to start operations in
the first half of 2024. Phase 1 project is
expected to produce up to 1,500 mt of lith-
ium carbonate, as well as up to 3,000 mt
of nickel and 500 mt of cobalt per year.
Phase 2 is expected to be the final
long-term plan and capacity for the facility,
and this will have an annual processing
capacity of 50,000 to 70,000 mt of black
mass, producing up to 16,500 mt of lith-
ium carbonate, 18,000 mt of nickel and
2,250 mt of cobalt. The Portovesme Hub
is designed to be able to process all forms
of Li-ion based black mass, including lithi-
um iron phosphate (LFP) materials.
“The development of the Hub with
Li-Cycle at Glencore’s Portovesme site is
progressing well,” said Kunal Sinha, Global
Head of Recycling for Glencore. “The proj-
ect, combined with our existing footprint in
the primary supply, as well as recycling of
battery metals, is a core tenet of our am-
bition to become the circularity partner
of choice with Li-Cycle for the European
battery and EV industry. Specifically, this
multi-phase approach to the development
of the Hub allows us to start to close the
loop for battery materials in Europe as ear-
ly as the first half of 2024, while we work
towards designing and building Phase 2.”
Li-Cycle and Glencore anticipate
forming a 50/50 joint venture (JV) for the
NOVEMBER 2023 • E&MJ 37
 RECYCLE AND REUSE
Shredded e-waste being fed into the first step of Descycle’s lab pilot. (Photo: Descycle)
Portovesme Hub, which also contem-
plates long-term financing from Glencore
to fund Li-Cycle’s share of the capital in-
vestment. For Phase 1, Li-Cycle will pro-
vide technical expertise and oversight,
with Portovesme and other technical and
operational experts from the Glencore
group directing the build and operation.
The definitive feasibility study for Phase
2 is underway and is scheduled to be
completed by mid-2024, while commis-
sioning for the Phase 2 Portovesme Hub
is slated for late 2026 to early 2027.
Scrap Aluminum Reduces
Rio’s Carbon Footprint
Scrap metal is another fast-growing
source of critical metals. According to
Transparency Market Research, sales
of scrap metal recycling are expected to
total $78.1 billion by the end of 2031 (a
CAGR of 6.1% from 2023).
In July 2023, Rio Tinto and Giampaolo
Group, one of North America’s largest
fully integrated metal management busi-
nesses, announced the formation of a JV
to manufacture and market recycled alu-
minum products. Under the agreement,
Rio Tinto will acquire a 50% equity stake
in Giampaolo Group’s Matalco business
— a producer of recycled aluminum billet
and slab products — for $700 million.
Matalco operates six facilities in the US
and one in Canada which have the capac-
ity to produce approximately 900,000 mt/y
of recycled aluminum. Rio Tinto said the
38 E&MJ • NOVEMBER 2023
transaction reflects the partners’ shared
commitment to meeting the increasing de-
mand for low-carbon aluminum as a key
material in the energy transition.
It added that: “The JV will enable
Rio Tinto to provide a broader range of
high-quality and low-carbon, primary, re-
cycled, and blended aluminum products,
at a time when customers are looking for
solutions to lower their carbon footprint.
The JV will also enhance Matalco’s current
service offering to a wider array of custom-
ers, while securing access for low-carbon
primary metal for its operations. Recycled
aluminum is forecast to account for more
than half of U.S. demand by 2028.”
Rio Tinto is a global leader in alumi-
num, with a large-scale, vertically inte-
grated business, including bauxite mines
and alumina refineries as well as smelt-
ers. The Matalco JV continues Rio’s in-
vestment in building its supply of low-car-
bon aluminum in North America. Previous
investments include $1.1 billion to ex-
pand the use of its AP60 technology at its
Arvida aluminum smelter in June 2023,
$29 million to establish new recycling ca-
pabilities at the Arvida smelter in August
2022, and $188 million to increase billet
production capability at the Alma smelter
in July 2022, all in the Saguenay-Lac-
Saint-Jean region of Quebec.
Rio Tinto is also working with the
Governments of Canada and Quebec
towards a deployment of the ELYSIS
zero-carbon aluminum smelting tech-
nology at its Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean
facilities. With the current development
pathway, the ELYSIS joint venture be-
tween Rio Tinto and Alcoa aims to have
its technology available for installation
from 2024, and the production of larger
volumes of carbon-free aluminum ap-
proximately two years later.
DEScycle’s Environmentally
Friendly E-waste Solution
Recycling doesn’t just provide a means
to an end. In some cases, new metal
recovery technologies can also answer
mining companies’ primary extraction co-
nundrums too.
In October 2023, clean tech compa-
ny, DEScycle, announced that its novel
metals processing technology, which
is based on a class of chemistry called
Deep Eutectic Solvents (DES), had
achieved the milestone of Technology
Readiness Level 5 (TRL 5).
Commissioned in August 2023, the
lab pilot which resulted in the TRL 5 des-
ignation, represented the culmination of
an 18-month feasibility study with the
UK-based Centre for Process Innovation
(CPI) and the beginning of work which
will support progression to TRL 7 and, in
the future, a commercial plant design.
E&MJ spoke to Leo Howden, Man-
aging Director of DEScycle, to find out
more. “The lab pilot was the last step of
our feasibility study,” he said. “We’ve now
successfully run the whole DES e-waste
process from start to finish several times
at the 10- to 20-liter scale. The lab pilot
has demonstrated metal recovery rates
of greater than 99% for precious metals
such as gold, silver, palladium, and criti-
cal metals such as copper.”
The process comprises a series of
steps during which all metals are taken
into solution and then selectively recov-
ered; the formulation can be tailored to tar-
get different metals depending upon each
business’ objectives. In e-waste, copper
and gold are the highest value and highest
component metals, but other precious and
base metals can be recovered too.
DEScycle is now working to identify a
suitable site for the large-scale pilot which
is likely to be near Teesside in northeast
England. Design of the pilot plant is well
underway with construction slated to be-
gin in Q2 2024. DEScycle already has
an agreement in place with GAP Group,
a recycling company based near New-
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castle, to construct the first commercial
scale facility at its site in Gateshead once
piloting is complete.
E-waste is the world’s fastest growing
waste stream. According to the United
Nations, 8 kg of e-waste per person will be
produced worldwide in 2023. This equates
to around 61.3 million mt of e-waste pro-
duced globally in just one year — more
than the weight of the Great Wall of China.
Only 17.4% of this will be properly collect-
ed, treated and recycled. The remaining
50.6 million mt will likely be placed in land-
fill, burned or illegally traded and treated,
or simply hoarded in households.
“E-waste is a massive growth area
and it’s extremely valuable,” Howden told
E&MJ. “We’re seeing a lot of interest from
industry, particularly upstream producers
of electronic products who are waking up
to the environmental impact of their sup-
ply chains. There’s a lot of legislation now
around extended producer responsibility
which means those companies are be-
coming more involved with recycling their
products at the end of life. As a result,
we’re seeing pushback on older recycling
technologies, such as smelting, which can
be energy intensive and polluting.”
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DES-based recycling uses biodegrad-
able, organic materials that work at low
temperatures and pressures. The DES
e-waste process uses significantly less en-
ergy than current smelting technologies and
doesn’t produce any scope one CO2 or met-
als emissions. The technology is also low
capital cost and scalable, which means that
DES recycling facilities can be co-located
with local existing recycling infrastructure.
“This is a huge shift away from the
aggregation model used at the moment
where materials are shipped abroad to a
large smelter to be recycled,” said Howden.
This also expands the potential for re-
cycling to be integrated into mining and
metals businesses. Currently, the only min-
ing companies that recycle are those that
have vertically integrated supply chains,
inclusive of metals refining. But with DES-
cycle’s technology, this isn’t necessary.
Solving Primary Metals
Recovery Challenges
E-waste recycling might be the beach
head market for DES but, longer term,
DEScycle is also looking at its potential
to enhance primary metals recovery. The
aim is to replace the incumbent capi-
RECYCLE AND REUSE
tal-intensive, high-pressure acid leach
(HPAL) process used to recover metals
such as nickel and cobalt, with a capi-
tal-light DES-based process.
“We’re actively working with some of
the world’s largest mining companies to
see how DES can help reduce their scope
one and two emissions as well as en-
hance their primary metals recovery,” said
Howden. “This will have an impact on their
profitability and potentially reduce their re-
liance on developing new mines to meet
increased demand for critical metals.”
DEScycle has successfully invented a
replacement pathway for HPAL in nickel
laterite processing, and the company is
eyeing copper as another potential market.
Can it be used to leach copper sulph-
ides as well as oxides? asked E&MJ.
“Yes we’ve achieved almost miracu-
lous results of over 99% copper recov-
ery from copper sulphides, which is in-
credibly exciting,” Howden replied. “But
work is still at an early stage. We’ve also
done quite a lot of work on recovering
rare earths. Ultimately, DES is a platform
technology that can be used to address
lots of different challenges in the mining
and metals industry.”
NOVEMBER 2023 • E&MJ 39
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