Abstract

Trends of declining ore grades coupled by increasing demand have led to a surge in effort towards recovering additional metal value out of tailings, waste rock piles, slag, partially spent heap leaches, low-grade stockpiles and other materials generated during earlier phases of mining [1]. As a result, there is currently a growing need for classifying these resources in a manner congruent with mining and mineral evaluation standards. Historically, resources have been classified according to geological origin, fixed cutoff grades, and static notions of ore versus waste. While these distinctions are operationally convenient, they obscure the fact that material classifications are neither fixed nor purely geological. The purpose of this manuscript is to propose the concept of a Secondary Mining Deposit: an anthropogenic accumulation of mineralized material produced through mining or mineral processing activities that may become economically viable under altered market, technological, or regulatory conditions. Considering these materials as secondary deposits rather than process endpoints, would initiate further understanding of the temporal nature of resource classification and provide a conceptual basis for integrating economic variability, technological change, and sustainability considerations into mineral exploration thinking.

Keywords:Sustainability; Circular economy; Technosphere; Mineral exploration; Mineral resource management