Raw materials supply: Kaolin and quartz from ore deposits and recycling activities. The example of the Monte Bracco area (Piedmont, Northern Italy)

Demand and availability of raw materials, especially “critical” raw materials (e.g., rare earths), are becoming increasingly topical issues. In this article we show the potential of an Italian mining and quarrying site (Monte Bracco area, quartzites and kaolin): the combined study of geological, environmental, technical, and economic factors can lead to a sustainable exploitation of the waste from past mining activities, as well as to a resumption of extractive activity of dimension stones and industrial minerals (quartzites, silica and kaolin). The high rare earths contents (especially Y) in the kaolinitic clays also make the site attractive in the critical raw materials arena in a future perspective.