Production and consumption wastes reduce utilization efficiency of natural resources and negatively affect ecosystems. More than 500 thousand hectares of land are occupied for the storage of mining waste in Russia, and the negative impact of the waste extends to territories exceeding this area by 10-15 times. Content of ferrous and non-ferrous metals in wastes of metallurgical and mining industries is comparable to content of these components in ores of promising deposits. Involving these materials in processing is an urgent priority. The most important factors determining the efficiency of processing are the selectivity of penetrating a valuable component, determining the optimal grinding size and the content of fine particles. The structure, material composition and physical and mechanical characteristics of metallurgical slags differ significantly from natural ores, so the disintegration schemes of man-made raw materials must be chosen for each material depending on its individual characteristics. The paper defines significant criteria for assessing the characteristics of the composition and properties of man-made raw materials for choosing the rational method of slag destruction according to the selectivity and energy intensity using the case of metallurgical slag.