article_snippet: Researchers now hope to 'mine' sewage reducing the need to mine raw metals from the ground, while reducing pollution by recycling human waste.
article_snippet: The US researchers are investigating ways of flushing out the valuable minerals, including gold, silver and rare elements such as palladium and vanadium.
article_snippet: Taking a lesson from industrial mining, the scientists are experimenting with chemicals called leachates that are used to pull metals out of rock.
article_snippet: Some of chemicals called leachates that are used to pull metals out of rock have a bad reputation for damaging ecosystems when Some of these chemicals leak or spill into the environment.
article_snippet: But in controlled conditions, Some of these chemicals could safely be used to recover metals from treated solid waste, Dr Smith claims.
article_snippet: Dr Kathleen Smith of the US Geological Survey said: 'If you can get rid of some of the nuisance metals that currently limit how much of these biosolids we can use on fields and forests, and at the same time recover valuable metals and other elements, that's a win-win. '
article_snippet: In one part of the study, we are looking at removing some regulated metals from the biosolids that limit some regulated metals use for land application.
article_snippet: the study aims to use the same chemicals, called leachates, which the mining industry uses to pull metals out of rock.
article_snippet: While some of these leachates have a bad reputation for damaging ecosystems when some of these leachates leak or spill into the environment, in a controlled setting, some of these leachates could safely be used to recover metals in treated solid waste.
article_snippet: Dr Smith added that 'the economic and technical feasibility of metal recovery from biosolids needs to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.'
highlights_snippet: Scientists looking for ways to flush out the valuable minerals from waste .
  
highlights_snippet: Scientists looking for ways to flush out the valuable minerals from waste .
   include gold, silver and elements such as palladium and vanadium .
  