Mining waste management as part of the Mineral Resource Base Development Strategy of the Russian Federation

The study focuses on the expansion of the mineral resource base of the Russian Federation through processing of waste materials produced by mining companies with account of the forecast for the demanded and strategic metals and elements by 2050. It discusses what tools, methods, techniques can be used in this direction. The paper give a definition of the concept of “organizational and economic mechanism of managing waste processing projects” in the context of the mining industry. The principles of the circular economy and environmental management form the theoretical and methodological basis of the research. Solutions are proposed to further improve the best available technologies, to form self-financing waste processing projects of mining companies in conditions of the sanctions pressure and volatility of demand for resources. One of the examples of the best available technologies, according to the authors, is the technology by the SAITAX company, which actively develops new technologies and complex solutions aimed at complete utilization and processing of waste materials generated during operation of mining companies and industrial production facilities. The SAITAX company has developed a target project for one of the largest Russian enterprises that envisages construction of a plant with the capacity required to process all the sludge at each deposit that belongs to the enterprise. The project assumes maximum localization and purchasing minimum raw materials. The processing period is from 50 to 100 years at one field. As the first step the company proposes to launch a pilot project designed to process 40 thousand tons of sludge per year.