The characterization and cultivation of tailing dams and waste dumps for the treatment and subsequent recovery of critical raw materials is an actual priority concerning EU member States. This activity is both linked to the purpose of the remediation of old mining sites for a new employment of the area and the soil reuse and to actually developing mining activities. In this perspective the geophysical characterization of tailing dams in order to organize the subsequent excavation and treatment activities is fundamental together with the social acceptance and the environmental impact evaluation of all the process. According to the different kind of excavated materials and the related content of critical raw materials physical and chemical treatments may be proposed such as: sieving, magnetic and electric separation, fluid media separation, chemical and/or biological leaching, crystallization and precipitation, solvent extraction, membrane-based processes or the integration of those. All the performed operations must be evaluated according to environmental and economic aspects.