Waste heat recovery in mining refers to the capture and reuse of thermal energy that is generated as a by-product of industrial processes and would otherwise be discharged into the atmosphere or cooling systems without productive use. In gold mining operations, smelting furnaces, autoclaves used in pressure oxidation, and roasting kilns generate substantial amounts of waste heat that can be harvested through heat exchangers, recuperators, or waste heat boilers to generate steam for power production or process heating. In bauxite-to-alumina refining operations, the Bayer process involves high-temperature digestion and evaporation stages, and waste heat recovery systems are widely deployed to pre-heat pregnant liquor or incoming feed streams, significantly reducing the overall energy consumption of the refinery. Iron ore pelletising and sintering plants generate large volumes of hot off-gases that can be recycled back into the process or used to generate electricity through organic Rankine cycle (ORC) systems. Diamond processing circuits that use X-ray fluorescence (XRF) sorting and autogenous milling can also benefit from heat recovery to reduce utility costs. Waste heat recovery contributes to energy efficiency targets, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and lowers operating costs across all mining and mineral processing sectors.
