Managing director Matthew Dorman said the funding would facilitate final development of the process, which was progressing well, having moved from static bench test evaluation tests to continuous full process programmes.

He told Mining Journal Scoria hoped to have completed all final optimisations and be in a position to bring the process to commercialisation before the end of 2019 after about a decade of development and millions of dollars in investment.

The Minex process is a patented pyrometallurgical technology developed to remove the valuable metals of mining and metallurgical slags and discharge non-hazardous waste that can be used in other industries, such as road building and construction.  

Dorman said it had significant environmental and economic upside for waste owners and was aimed to be a market changer in reprocessing slag piles and improving the environment.

"All development work to date has shown that the process effectively removes 90% of targeted metals from what would otherwise be considered an environmental and economic liability whilst generating a stable, non-hazardous discharge," he said.

Madrid-based corporate finance advisory firm Cognitive Corporate Finance has been hired to secure the $7.5 million funding.