Abstract:
Urban mining, as an efficient solution for recovering value from anthropogenic stocks, can be made possible through technological processes and contribute to the supply of critical and strategic minerals. While traditional mining uses processes for mapping, identification, characterization and concentration of mineral fractions of interest, urban mining uses similar processes to recover minerals from secondary sources, demanding less energy and materials. This study aims to analyze comparatively traditional mining and urban mining, considering the recovery potential of critical and strategic minerals from secondary sources. A comparative analysis of both approaches was carried through the bibliographical analysis. The finds suggest that urban mining will not replace traditional mining but will contribute to the application of circular economy principles through efficient resource recovery and mitigation of impacts on waste management, resulting in uncertainty decreasing regarding the supplying of critical and strategic minerals. The study also points to the recovery potential of secondary materials from the management of waste from electrical and electronic equipment in Brazil.