Recent years have seen a growing demand in urban mining from buildings pertaining to its great environmental and economic perspectives. Materials such as Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) from buildings add up to significant amount in urban waste, However, they are the significant source of precious resources which can be recycled. Building Information Modelling (BIM), a methodology to store building data and COBie (Construction Operations Building Information Exchange: a subset of such data meant for FM related activities) can be used to perform crucial urban mining studies. There is a paucity in literature that examines the use of BIM based data for end-stage of building lifecycle. To achieve the circular economy model for sustainability goals, it is important to harness the BIM based model data for urban mining calculations.

The aim of this study is to develop a framework for automated calculation of urban mining potential of a building, utilizing BIM based COBie data. A simulation-based study was carried out using COBie certified BIM model from buildingSMART. Further an algorithm was developed which utilizes COBie data as an input and automatically calculate the potential compounds and minerals which can extracted from the building waste after or during demolition process. The study highlights that by combining two concepts (BIM and Urban Mining), useful data can be collected to perform a better-informed decisions during demolition activities, rather than simply disposing and dumping.