Wednesday, 7 October 2026 – From the mine to the present: a lecture about critical raw materials, a visit to the recycling company ZEDKO, two workshops on copper and the raw materials kit, and a farewell party with a circle dance.
On Wednesday, the students moved from history to the present and future. The topic was the metals that we need for all our electrical devices. doc. RNDr. Stanislav Jeleň, CSc. and two of his students from Matej Bel University (UMB) in Banská Bystrica gave a lecture about critical metals. They talked about whether and how these metals could be mined in the future. The students also learned how much politics influences mining and how raw materials are shared around the world. They looked at samples under a microscope and held minerals from Slovak mines in their hands.
Next, the groups took a public bus to the recycling company ZEDKO. On a tour of the company, the students saw how old electronic devices are processed and how the metals in them are recovered. They held silver, silver powder and gold in their hands and saw what melted metal looks like.
One number was especially surprising: a tonne of old smartphones and similar electronic devices contains up to four times more valuable metals, such as silver, copper and gold, than a tonne of rock from Hodruša-Hámre. So the mine of the future may be in our drawers at home. “This visit showed us that our electronic waste can be recycled and used again in new devices, so we do not have to destroy our beautiful environment,” the reporting team writes.
After so much new information, everyone was hungry. After a short walk, they had lunch at a nice pizzeria in the Radvaň part of town.
In the afternoon, there were two workshops. The first one, “The Age of Copper” (Vek medi), was about the metal that made Banská Bystrica and the Fuggers rich. In groups, the students learned about the history of copper: from the Copper Age, which lasted in Europe from about 5000 to 2200 BC, to the use of electricity in the 19th century. Copper is very good at carrying electricity, and it is easy to make into wires. That is why we find it today in cables, motors and transformers. The teams looked for copper in their everyday lives. They also learned that almost all copper can be recovered through recycling. Finally, a timed online quiz tested what everyone had learned during the week.
Then it was time for practical work. In international teams, the students worked with a raw materials kit that was developed especially for this project. They used different tools to open old smartphones and take them apart. Then they matched the parts to the elements of the periodic table that can be found in a smartphone.
From 3:30 p.m., everyone had free time. Many students went to the shopping centre. Others stayed at home and played board games or video games. One group even went climbing at a climbing centre in Zvolen.
The farewell party started at 7 p.m. The host families brought food and drinks, and everyone ate, danced, talked and played games. The Polish and German guests received their certificates and a small book of stories about Banská Bystrica, written by students in earlier years. The winner of the copper quiz got a prize, and the teachers and host families received a special thank you. At the end of the evening, everyone danced the “Belgijka” in pairs in a big circle. This dance comes from Belgium, but it is very popular in Poland.
