As important as mining is to society, techniques and equipment that were first developed in the early 1900s are still standard in many modern mining facilities today. Latest innovations and cost reductions in cleantech hold promise for making mining more profitable, safer and better for the planet.

While there are clear benefits to mining companies implementing new technologies, there is risk involved with new technology. New technology—like bioremediation or electrochemical water treatment—has historically struggled to find footholds in mining because companies generally don’t like taking the risk of adopting new, unproven technology until others have. That attitude is now changing, as companies are increasingly motivated by the dramatic new economic benefits promised by new breakthroughs in green mining.

Select companies around the world are poised to reinvigorate mining with cleantech innovations aimed at making permitting faster and less expensive by reducing toxicity, power and water requirements. Closure costs are being minimized by new remediation technologies. Other technologies promise other economic benefits.

Which new green mining tech companies stand the best chances of success? How can existing players manage risk in the face of new innovation? Which ‘new’ green mining technologies stand the best chance of becoming new accepted industry standards?

This report critically examines leading companies with disruptive emerging technologies in biological tailings remediation, water treatment, hydrometallurgy, carbon sequestration and more. It concludes with recommendations for investors, mining companies, policy makers, entrepreneurs and service providers.

Report essential for

• Companies across the mining value chain, from small technology developers to large mining multinationals
• Investors seeking disruptive innovation
• Service providers seeking mining technology companies as clients
• Policy makers grappling with how to support mining in the face of environmental and social justice criticism
• And others

Methodology
Kachan & Co. conducted interviews with leading green mining vendors and synthesized secondary materials for this report over a four month period. Research uncovered many details about select companies' green mining technologies and their latest research and funding statuses, not available anywhere else. 47 companies offering the most compelling cleaner mining technologies are profiled in the report.

Technologies investigated
Power reduction (comminution efficiency, low power separation, hydrometallurgical processes, other alternative processes), fuel and maintenance reduction (equipment route optimization, fuel additives/filters, natural gas conversion, electric conversion, improved lubricants, polymers and coatings, training simulators, other fuel reduction approaches), toxicity reduction (bioleaching, bioremediation/phytoremediation, non-cyanide separation), emissions reduction (dust management, particulate sequestration, carbon sequestration), water reduction (AMD/ARD remediation, water filtration/reuse, wastewater processing, tailings remediation, desalination).