1246 This consolidation is consistent with sector-level reviews that map circular opportunities by stream type and intervention point (Khan & Magweregwede, 2025) and with technical reviews that classify recovery options by residue classes (Kaya et al., 2020; Tezyapar Kara et al., 2023). 4.2 Waste stream families (inputs) Across the 18 papers, circular recovery begins from a defined waste stream that carries both risk and remaining material value. The dominant input families are (a) solid mining and mineral-processing residues such as tailings (Pan et al., 2025; Peng et al., 2025), (b) metallurgical and industrial residues such as slags and secondary solids (Li et al., 2025; Kaya et al., 2020), and (c) aqueous streams such as mineimpacted water and acid mine drainage, where treatment can be designed for recovery and reuse (Mulopo, 2022; Wibowo et al., 2025). For each family, papers typically describe composition, contaminant profiles, and why the stream is both a liability and a resource opportunity. 4.3 Mechanism families (process pathways) Process mechanisms cluster into: - Hydrometallurgical and chemical separation routes, including leaching, impurity control, and selective recovery steps (Kaya et al., 2020; Omri et al., 2025; Peng et al., 2025). - Electrochemical and separation routes, which emphasize controlled recovery conditions and trade-offs between operational complexity and selectivity (Mourdikoudis & Dominguez-Benetton, 2025). - Adsorption and media-based recovery, where selectivity and regeneration behavior shape performance (Asif et al., 2025; Wibowo et al., 2025). - Biological pathways, including bioleaching and biomining frames applied to wastes and by-products (Tezyapar Kara et al., 2023; Cozma et al., 2024). 4.4 Performance reporting and traceability to operational and economic outcomes Most papers report process-level indicators such as recovery yield, selectivity, process time and productivity, reagent and energy intensity, operational stability, and secondary residue handling. However, reporting of plant-level operational indicators and economic outcomes (e.g., operating cost per ton, margin per ton) is inconsistent and often not comparable because many studies do not specify system boundaries, baselines, or observation windows. When papers address adoption and plant-scale deployment, they typically describe constraints and requirements such as integration into existing processing flowsheets, regulatory compliance, infrastructure needs, and collaboration with technology providers, rather than measuring organizational conditions inside firms. 5. DISCUSSION 5.1 Interpretation of results: what the evidence suggests The consolidated pathway clusters show that mining circularity research is rich in technical options and increasingly diverse in mechanisms and target outputs. At the same time, evidence remains uneven on how these options become stable operating practices with repeatable performance. This matters for “trust” because stakeholders—including operators, regulators, and communities—need performance claims that are traceable, comparable, and robust under realistic variability. 5.2 Barriers and enablers Across the corpus, barriers and enablers concentrate in four domains:
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