MINE TO TAILING 4.0: OPTIMIZATION OF WATER, ENERGY, AND TAILINGS IN MODERN MINING — METSO TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS *E. Ku Metso Corporation, Lima, Peru (*Presenting author: Eduardo.ku@metso.com) ABSTRACT The mining industry faces mounting pressure to optimize production while minimizing environmental and social impacts. Tailings management is a critical component of this challenge, directly influencing water consumption, energy efficiency, and long-term environmental risk. The Mine to Tailing 4.0 concept proposes an integrated approach that links ore characteristics, concentrator performance, and tailings storage facility (TSF) design to ensure operational resilience and alignment with global sustainability targets. This paper develops the technical basis of Mine to Tailing 4.0, examining geometallurgical integration, water optimization, energy efficiency, and predictive control of tailings behavior. It further demonstrates how Metso's portfolio of thickening, filtration, sensor, and digital technologies enables this integrated approach in practice. Empirical evidence from Latin American copper and gold operations shows freshwater consumption reductions of 25–40%, energy savings of 15–20% in dewatering circuits, and significant extensions to TSF operational lifespan. The framework aligns with IPCC net-zero pathways, UN SDG 6, and the global shift toward responsible tailings governance under the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM). KEYWORDS Mine-to-tailings integration; water management; energy optimization; tailings storage facility; sustainability; geometallurgy; Metso; thickening; filtration; digital monitoring. 1. INTRODUCTION The global mining industry operates at the intersection of two converging pressures. On the environmental side, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC, 2018) establishes that net anthropogenic CO₂ emissions must decline by 45% by 2030 relative to 2010 levels and reach net zero by approximately 2050—a trajectory that requires significant reductions in the energy and water intensity of extractive operations. On the social side, UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 (clean water and sanitation) and the 2020 Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (GISTM) impose increasingly stringent expectations on how mining companies manage their water inventories and tailings infrastructure (ICMM, 2020; United Nations, 2015).
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