| Avoidance of the formation
of acid mine drainage in copper mining; methods for mining and processing
with less water demand |
| Better separation equipment
in copper smelters to minimize the formation of metal-rich dusts;
better capturing of sulfur dioxide, which can be used to produce sulfuric
acid |
| Phasing
out of less-energy-efficient
processing technologies |
| Multi-metal reduction methods:
the coextraction of other metals during copper production that experience
high market demand, such as silver, gold, palladium, platinum and
selenium (recovery of co-products during copper extraction can reach
up to 20% of the value of primary copper production) |
| Sustainable copper smelting,
refining, and electrowinning using both improved hydrometallurgical
methods and further improvements in pyrometallurgy |
| Copper production with less
water consumption |
| Sustainable and less harmful
copper production from arsenic-contaminated minerals |
| Direct chalcopyrite treatment |
