Objective
The EU must secure and diversify access to critical raw materials, but supply must be responsibly sourced. Zambia’s Copperbelt hosts some of the world’s richest copper and cobalt deposits and underpins the country’s goal to triple copper output within a decade. Increased production will generate large volumes of sulfidic tailings as operations move into deeper sulfide ore bodies, adding to the two billion tonnes of legacy tailings already accumulated. These tailings, though low-grade, hold significant cobalt and copper but are unsuitable for conventional heap leaching, and traditional reprocessing is often uneconomic. They thus represent both an underutilised resource and an environmental risk.
INSOKA tackles this challenge with an innovative, low-cost pond bioleaching system. Compared with conventional tank bioleaching, it sharply reduces capital and operating costs, making recovery viable across a wider range of grades. Bioleaching also produces benign residues, reducing long-term liabilities, and works on both legacy and new tailings. The system will be demonstrated in Zambia using Mopani mine tailings at TRL7. A detailed characterisation strategy will be implemented, with mapping and amenability testing to identify replication opportunities across the Copperbelt.
Cost-effective upstream preprocessing will concentrate sulfide minerals, while downstream separation using new environmentally friendly SX reagents will yield refined cobalt and copper for EU markets. INSOKA directly supports EU strategic objectives on critical raw materials, advances Zambia’s industrial ambitions, and offers a scalable solution for both value recovery and environmental risk reduction from mining tailings.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- engineering and technology environmental biotechnology bioremediation bioleaching
- engineering and technology environmental engineering mining and mineral processing
You need to log in or register to use this function
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
HORIZON.2.4 - Digital, Industry and Space
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme -
HORIZON.2.4.4 - Advanced Materials
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-IA - HORIZON Innovation Actions
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-CL4-2025-01
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
45060 Orleans
France
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.