Mining tailings as a frontier for sustainable nanomaterials: advancing circular economy and environmental innovation

The mining industry plays a crucial role in global economic growth and technological advancement, faces persistent challenges in managing mining tailings pose significant environmental and societal risks. Mine tailings are primarily composed of finely milled rock, water, and extraction chemicals, often lead to soil and water contamination, atmospheric pollution, and ecological disruption when improperly managed. Recent advancements have transformed mining tailings from waste into valuable resources for synthesizing nanomaterials (NMs) through sustainable extraction processes. Emerging extraction methods, including acidic and alkaline treatments and chemical reduction, enable the recovery of metals like copper, iron, nickel, and gold in nanoparticulate forms. These NMs exhibit exceptional properties enhanced reactivity, tunable optical and mechanical behaviors and support diverse applications in catalysis, environmental remediation, medicine, and energy storage. NMs derived from mining tailings align with circular economic principles, addressing global resource shortages while offering economic and environmental benefits. Their production not only mitigates waste management challenges but also reduces dependence on primary resources. Despite promising advancements, challenges such as process optimization, toxicity management, scalability, and regulatory gaps remain. We emphasize the necessity of life cycle assessments, green chemistry practices, and policy frameworks to ensure safe and efficient industrial integration. This review provides a comprehensive insight into current technologies, applications, risks, and future research directions, underscoring the transformative potential of mining tailings for sustainable development.