Solar panels floating on liquid waste: How a mine in Chile powers itself

Chile has found another use for dams that hold the liquid waste from massive copper-mining operations: power generation.

Calling it the first project of its kind in the world, Anglo American Plc has installed 256 photovoltaic panels at the tailings dam for its Los Bronces complex in Chile. The panels are floating atop the sometimes-toxic ground minerals and effluents blasted out of rocks dug up at the mine. The pilot project is expected to generate 150,000 kilowatt-hours a year and help power the operations there, the company said in a statement on Thursday.

While it’s not much electricity in the grand scheme