Waste in mining operations is a function of economics and is entirely contingent on the treatment options considered and prevailing market conditions at any given time. As mined grades decline globally, waste generation (both total volume and as a fraction of total mined volume) increases. The resulting imperative is to improve primary treatment efficiencies and investigate options for economic retreatment of wastes. This is part of the drive toward a circular economy which focuses on reducing primary extraction through reusing or repurposing of existing material. At the Forrestania Nickel Operation, the Cosmic Boy Concentrator stockpiled ball mill scats over the course of 12 years. This resulted in the accumulation of >350 000 t of acid forming waste material with an average grade of 1.5 per cent nickel, representing a significant resource which was previously untreated due to potential grade displacement in the flotation plant, material hardness, and contamination with residual grinding media. A semi-mobile magnetic sorting circuit was designed and operated to treat this material by removing residual grinding media while upgrading the nickel. The circuit successful upgraded the nickel contents by 1.4 times, with nickel recovery to the accepts fraction exceeding 80 per cent while additionally reducing material hardness. This provided a relatively low-cost feed source for the flotation plant. The magnetic sorting circuit effectively reduced the waste stockpile mass by 60 per cent with the remaining waste material being earmarked for usage in mine closure plans. This has resulted in the complete utilisation of a material previously considered to be waste. This process has served two purposes in that it generated significant economic value while reducing the waste burden. It is a reminder to operating sites to revisit potential waste streams to explore value recovery and to forward plan the storage of waste for future use.