Recovery of Values from Low-Grade and Complex Minerals

Book excerpt: Recovery of Values from Low-Grade and Complex Minerals The book elaborates on various physicochemical properties of minerals and technological developments to improve the recovery of metals while ensuring cost-effectiveness and minimal environmental impact. The mineral industry is undergoing significant cultural, organizational, and technological transformations to address some of the major limitations and challenges related to the environmental and productivity domains. As far as productivity is concerned, the decrease of high-grade ores has been one of the stumbling blocks toward the achievement of maximum recovery of metals while, on the other hand, the complexity of minerals therein makes it difficult to profitably extract metals using only conventional methods. This book presents eight specialized chapters that focus on the exploration of the complexity of minerals that are likely to negatively influence the recovery of values, as well as the development of adequate technologies capable of improving the process of mineral concentration and/or metal recovery from complex minerals in a sustainable manner. It reviews the various physicochemical properties of minerals that are likely to pose a challenge during the attempt to recover values using conventional methods. It also elaborates on the recent technological development that has been considered by researchers to improve the recovery of metals from gangue-dominated minerals while ensuring cost-effectiveness and minimal adverse environmental impact. Audience This book will be of interest to academic researchers from the fields of mineral processing, hydrometallurgy, geochemistry, environment, chemistry, engineering, and professionals including mining plant operators, environmental managers in the industries, government regulatory bodies officers, and environmentalists.