✉news EnvironmentEnergy first seen 1 h ago, last 20 min ago, peak #33
Utah copper mine turns waste sludge into solar power
Original: More than 71,000 solar panels on a Utah copper mine carry a metal pulled from the same sludge the refinery already mines for gold and silver, because 90 percent of the world's tellurium is locked inside copper ore, and the panels now power the operation tha
A copper mine in Utah has installed more than 71,000 solar panels that use tellurium, a metal extracted from the same refinery sludge already processed for gold and silver. Around 90 percent of the world's tellurium is locked inside copper ore, making copper refining a key supply route. The panels now power the mining operation itself, closing the loop between extraction and clean energy production.
Why now: The unusual closed-loop setup, recovering a scarce solar-panel metal from mine waste to power the mine itself, is drawing attention as a model for sustainable mining and critical-mineral supply.
Utah copper minetelluriumcoppersolar panels
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