Echo Li is an architectural designer and grew up in Chengdu, China. She graduated from the Yale School of Architecture and received a certificate in Environmental Humanities in 2025. She worked for 1.5 years at the Yale Urban Design Workshop on community projects in New Haven, and recently started working full time as a designer in New York City.
Roan Hollander is a Yale College Senior majoring in Environmental Studies.
RH: Can you describe your grant project, “Working with Tailings”?
EL: For this project, I gathered tailing samples from a lithium mine and incorporated them into handmade bricks. My goal was to explore the afterlife of mining waste. Through the brickmaking process, I aimed to uncover if the tailings could become a part of everyday building materials. Could harmful trash be turned into a useful product? Of course, tailings are a type of industrial waste that need to be studied much more before large-scale reuse, but this project offered a window into what tailings reuse could look like if it were studied further.
You wrote in your grant application that this project built off your thesis research on lithium mining and industrial supply chains. What did you learn in your thesis research that inspired you to use mining tailings in bricks?
I am fascinated by how things are connected in a system. Through my research, I found that lithium mines in South America, Australia, Africa, and China sustain the largest part of the battery manufacturing industry. This industry is expanding due to growing demand for batteries for mobile phones, laptops, electric vehicles, and solar and wind energy. Lithium mining is becoming increasingly important in the contemporary world.
A tailings lake at a lithium mine in Zimbabwe.
Mining sites are typically intentionally kept away from the public eye, however, and, in my opinion, these sites are not studied enough. Huge amounts of tailings are dumped into artificial lakes in rural Africa and many other parts of the world out of our sight. Most of the tailings are held in place by a geo-membrane submerged underwater to prevent soil and underground aquifer contamination. Unfortunately, the membrane may only last about ten years.
The solution that companies have been using is to build another dam with a new membrane and to fill it with water to submerge the membrane again. The membrane must be underwater, otherwise the tailings residue would be exposed to the air. Once dry, the tailing particles become easily airborne, and with heavy metals inside, could become toxic dust. Humans are still trying to figure out a better, scalable way to handle the residue of our excavation.
Environmental remediation to brickmaking bridges two industries together. At the time of my project, I was unable to find solid studies on a circular economy for lithium mining. While existing studies approach the problems from a remediation perspective, I approached it as a designer. By pairing mining and building, mining companies could potentially reduce the cost of waste processing, while the construction industry could explore new products with free materials. Since the time I started the project, there have already been more scientific studies published on methods of immobilizing tailings.
Where did you source the mine tailings from? What was the process of brick creation like?
When I looked at Google Earth to examine potential mines from which to source the tailings, I was struck by the visual contrast of blue lakes in dry lands on the African continent. I contacted a mining company in Zimbabwe, and they allowed me to visit the mine. I stayed there for a few days, collecting tailings for my project.
At Yale, I collaborated with scientists in multiple departments, including Brandon Mercado in the Department of Chemistry, Fabian Mendes at the Chemical and Biophysical Instrumentation Center, Zhenting Jiang in the Department of Geology and Geophysics and Sungwoo Sohn at the Yale Institute for Nanoscience and Quantum Engineering. With their help conducting lab tests and reading the data, I came to the preliminary conclusion that the tailing samples resemble mica powder in their physical and chemical composition, but they also contain hazardous metal.
Tailings samples to be tested in the lab.
Brickmaking is rooted in traditional craftsmanship, but current methods are standardized through mechanization. Clay, sand, and water are mixed at a certain ratio, shaped into a block, then either dried or fired to form ceramic bonds and strengthen. I made my bricks by hand with a wooden mold, and I added mica, which made the clay easier to manipulate by hand.
You displayed this project in your Thesis Review. How did the concept of the project inform the exhibition design? What did you hope viewers would learn from the project?
During the Thesis Review, I placed the bricks vertically on the ground, spaced evenly to cover the whole floor. This defamiliarized the bricks so they had to be looked at individually. In this way, the bricks deviated from their constructive utility and became monuments. The form was inspired by artists like Donald Judd and architects like Peter Eisenmann (Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe). Each brick is slightly different because of my own handcraft. I sought to pay respect to the individuals who make bricks using traditional techniques. The original idea of my exhibition was to confuse people and make them wonder where the bricks are from, and that is my purpose in making art––using striking visuals to bring new questions to the table.
During my Thesis Review, it was raining outside. When I opened the door to the courtyard to reveal the work, water poured in and all the bricks stood wet and dripping. The monuments looked tiny and vulnerable under the sky. This made me wonder: how many towers would we need to build using toxic bricks to consume all the tailings in the world? Perhaps there is a future where we have no choice but to live with toxicity.
The brick arrangement at Echo’s “Working with Tailings” Thesis Review.
You described in your project proposal that you wanted to collaborate with Elm City Montessori School. What did this collaboration look like and how did you engage young students in this project?
After dismantling the exhibition, there were two batches of bricks needing an afterlife: the first batch were made with actual tailings I brought back from Zimbabwe. Those are temporarily kept at my home, and I am still looking for a museum/gallery to store or exhibit them.
The other batch was purely demonstrational and non-toxic. I purchased some mica powder (the main composition of tailings without harmful elements) as a safe substitute for tailings to make normal bricks. I donated these harmless bricks to Elm City Montessori School in New Haven. In August 2025, I organized an event with the school and gave the children a presentation on environmental hazard mitigation within the material supply chain of electronics. To align with the school’s educational mission, I drew the connection between peace and environmental justice, emphasizing how the design of these bricks carry a unique message of peace. Young students used the bricks as a creative medium and made their own interpretations of peace by drawing on the bricks. Finally, in September, on the International Day of Peace, they installed the painted bricks on their playground around a peace pole.
Decorated bricks arranged around a peace pole at Elm City Montessori.
What is next for “Working with Tailings”? Can people view this project anywhere?
There are a lot more studies that would need to be done to call “Working with Tailings” a solid research project. I’d like to continue it, or to encourage people to engage with the ideas themselves. I think that the project has done its part as an art project in bringing attention to the topic of hazardous waste disposal and the potential for circular building material supply chains.
I am working on further publishing the project by creating a book and a website. In the meantime, you can always go to Elm City Montessori School to see the bricks. As for a museum or gallery exhibition, I’m still searching for ways to bring the bricks to the public in this setting.