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Minerals
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Advances in Precious and Critical Mineral Beneficiation and Extraction
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Advances in Precious and Critical Mineral Beneficiation and Extraction

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 10085

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Richmond K. Asamoah

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Guest Editor
Minerals and Resource Engineering, Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes Campus, Adelaide, SA 5095, Australia
Interests: mineral processing and extractive metallurgy; data analytics and machine learning; biohydrometallurgy; surface and interfacial science; environmetal science (ESG)
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Ahmet Deniz Baş

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Guest Editor
Department of Mining Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Mugla Sıtkı Kocman University, 48000 Menteşe/Muğla, Turkey
Interests: biohydrometallurgy of base and precious metals; gold leaching; treatment of refractory gold ores; graphite purification; electrochemical methods in leaching applications; mineral electrode; WEEE; quartz bleaching
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. George Blankson Abaka-Wood

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Guest Editor
Sustainable Minerals Processing, Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes Campus, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095, Australia
Interests: battery metals and critical minerals; rare earth elements; extractive metallurgy; mineral processing; process plant design and optimization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Kali Sanjay

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Guest Editor
CSIR – Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology, Bhubaneswar 751012, Odisha, India
Interests: design and scale-up of hydrometallurgical unit operations; process flow-sheet development to recover non-ferrous metals from low-grade ores/secondaries; solid wastes and effluents processing/electroremediation/electrowashing/salt-splitting
Prof. Dr. Jonas Addai-Mensah

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Guest Editor
Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5095, Australia
Interests: hydrometallurgy; physical separation and beneficiation of mineral ores; flotation; colloid and interfacial science and particle interactions; thickening; dewatering and disposal of mineral waste tailings; process water treatment and environmental cleaning
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With the increasing demand for valuable metals, advanced techniques are required for processing complex ore bodies and secondary metal sources or wastes (e.g., printed circuit boards). These complex ore bodies and secondary metal sources host precious and critical minerals that will aid the development of high technology equipment and the transition to a clean energy economy. The current Special Issue focusses on novel and advanced beneficiation and extractive metallurgical methods for precious (e.g., gold, silver, and platinum group metals) and critical (e.g., nickel, cobalt, and rare earth elements) metals recovery and/or extraction from primary and secondary sources. The Special Issue is organized into three sections and invites contributions accordingly:

  • Section 1: Advances in physical separation and beneficiation of complex ores and wastes containing precious and critical minerals.
  • Section 2: Developments in hydrometallurgical (including biological) and aqueous extraction of complex ores and wastes containing precious and critical minerals.
  • Section 3: Advances in electrometallurgical processes for precious and critical metal extraction.

Dr. Richmond K. Asamoah
Dr. Ahmet Deniz Baş
Dr. George Blankson Abaka-Wood
Dr. Kali Sanjay
Prof. Dr. Jonas Addai-Mensah
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Minerals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • precious and critical minerals
  • complex ore bodies
  • physical separation and beneficiation
  • biomining
  • hydrometallurgy
  • electrometallurgy
  • solvent extraction and ion exchange
  • wastes and secondary metal sources
  • recycling

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 7541 KiB  
Article
Assessment of Gold and Mercury Losses in an Artisanal Gold Mining Site in Nigeria and Its Implication on the Local Economy and the Environment
by Nnamdi C. Anene, Bashir M. Dangulbi and Marcello M. Veiga
Minerals 2024, 14(11), 1131; https://doi.org/10.3390/min14111131 - 8 Nov 2024
Viewed by 1029
Abstract
The objective of this work was to establish the gold and mercury losses in an artisanal mining deposit (Uke) in Nigeria to convince miners about their inefficiency and suggest changes in their gold extraction practices. Samples of feeds and tailings from five sluice [...] Read more.
The objective of this work was to establish the gold and mercury losses in an artisanal mining deposit (Uke) in Nigeria to convince miners about their inefficiency and suggest changes in their gold extraction practices. Samples of feeds and tailings from five sluice box concentration processes previously ground in hammer mills below 1 mm (P80 = 0.5 mm) were systematically sampled every 15 min. for 4 h and sent for gold analyses by a fire assay and intensive cyanidation. Dry grain size analyses of primary and amalgamation tailings allowed us to find out in which size fraction gold and mercury are lost. Total mercury losses in sixteen operations were obtained by weighing mercury at the beginning and in all steps of the concentrates’ amalgamation. After analyses, the average gold grade in the feed resulted in 3.80 ± 1.52 ppm (two standard deviations). The gold recovery was 29.24 ± 13.24%, which is low due to a lack of liberation of the fine gold particles from the gangue (silicates). Finer grinding would be necessary. The mercury balance revealed that 42% of the mercury added is lost, in which 26% involves tailings and 16% evaporated. The HgLost-to-AuProduced ratio was found to be 3.35 ± 9.46, which is exceedingly high for this type of amalgamation process that should have this ratio around 1. One reason is the excessive amount of mercury in the amalgams, 76.5 ± 38.12%, when the normal is around 40%–50%. Mercury lost by evaporation in open bonfires is clearly contaminating amalgamation operators (usually children), neighbours, and the environment. The Hg-contaminated tailings and primary tailings are sold to local cyanidation plants, and this can form toxic soluble Hg(CN)2 in the process. The results of this research were brought to the attention of the miners and other stakeholders, including the regulatory agencies of the government. The % gold recovery by amalgamation was not established in this study, but if this process recovers 50 to 60% of the liberated gold particles in a concentrate and 30% of gold was recovered in the sluice boxes, then the total gold recovery should be between 15 and 20; i.e., 80 to 85% of gold mined is lost. On average, an operation produces 8.26 g of gold/month, which is split to six miners, representing USD 69/month/miner or USD 2.3/day. It was discussed with miners, authorities, and community members (in particular female miners) how to avoid exposure to mercury, how to improve gold recovery without mercury, and the health and environmental effects of this pollutant. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Precious and Critical Mineral Beneficiation and Extraction)
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17 pages, 7229 KiB  
Article
Study of Hydrometallurgical Treatment of Metal-Bearing Material from Environmental Burdens Containing Iron, Chromium, Nickel, and Cobalt
by Martina Laubertová, Oksana Velgosova, Martin Sisol and Tomáš Vindt
Minerals 2024, 14(10), 968; https://doi.org/10.3390/min14100968 - 25 Sep 2024
Viewed by 663
Abstract
In Slovakia, around 200 environmental burdens that contain a significant amount of usable raw materials were created by the extraction of ores or the dumping of industrial waste. In this research, the hydrometallurgical metal recovery method from a metal-bearing environmental landfill in Sereď [...] Read more.
In Slovakia, around 200 environmental burdens that contain a significant amount of usable raw materials were created by the extraction of ores or the dumping of industrial waste. In this research, the hydrometallurgical metal recovery method from a metal-bearing environmental landfill in Sereď was investigated. The analysis of a representative sample of waste obtained from this landfill proved the presence of significant amounts of metals (43.45% Fe; 1.3% Cr; 0.09% Co, and 0.23% Ni). A thermodynamic study of the metals’ (Fe, Cr, Ni, and Co) leaching probability confirmed the possibility of metal extraction in an acidic environment. Subsequently, the effect of the most important factors on the leaching process (stirring intensity, temperature, liquid-to-solid phase ratio, and acid concentration) was experimentally tested. The analysis of the results determined the optimal leaching conditions. The extraction of 90.35% Fe and 59.62% Cr was ensured at a stirring intensity of 400 rpm, a leaching temperature of 80 °C, a liquid-to-solid phase ratio of 40, and a H2SO4 concentration of 3 mol/dm3. Various techniques, including SEM, EDX, XRD, Eh-pH diagrams, and AAS analysis, were used to analyze samples and products after leaching. The possibility of precipitating metals/compounds from the leachate to obtain a marketable product was theoretically proposed and proven. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Precious and Critical Mineral Beneficiation and Extraction)
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17 pages, 2763 KiB  
Article
Research on Enhancing Copper-Ammonia-Thiosulfate Eco-Friendly Gold Leaching by Magnetization of Lixiviant Solution and Their Kinetic Mechanism
by Zhengyu Liu, Jue Kou, Lipeng Fan, Weibin Zhang, Jie Tian, Chunbao Sun, Qiang Li, Jiubo Liu, Chengjun Xing and Guanhua Li
Minerals 2024, 14(7), 697; https://doi.org/10.3390/min14070697 - 8 Jul 2024
Viewed by 975
Abstract
In thiosulfate leaching of gold, the copper-ammonia complex serves as an oxidant and catalyst. This study examined the impact of magnetizing the copper-ammonia thiosulphate lixiviant solution on gold leaching from refractory oxidized ores. Magnetization reduced surface tension, improved wettability and infiltration, and enhanced [...] Read more.
In thiosulfate leaching of gold, the copper-ammonia complex serves as an oxidant and catalyst. This study examined the impact of magnetizing the copper-ammonia thiosulphate lixiviant solution on gold leaching from refractory oxidized ores. Magnetization reduced surface tension, improved wettability and infiltration, and enhanced the diffusion of leaching agents. It also increased dissolved oxygen content and boosted the catalytic efficiency of copper-ammonia complexes. These changes led to more efficient gold extraction, with column leaching showing a 4.74% improvement in extraction rates compared to non-magnetized methods and a 3.67% improvement over cyanide processes. These findings suggest that magnetized copper-ammonia thiosulphate lixiviant is a promising, environmentally friendly alternative to cyanide for refractory oxidized gold ores. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Precious and Critical Mineral Beneficiation and Extraction)
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20 pages, 5973 KiB  
Article
Development of Process Flow Sheet for Recovering Strategic Mineral Monazite from a Lean-Grade Bramhagiri Coastal Placer Deposit, Odisha, India
by Deependra Singh, Bighnaraj Mishra, Ankit Sharma, Suddhasatwa Basu and Raghupatruni Bhima Rao
Minerals 2024, 14(2), 139; https://doi.org/10.3390/min14020139 - 26 Jan 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2110
Abstract
The present investigation deals with the development of a process flow sheet for recovering strategic mineral monazite concentrate from a lean-grade offshore placer deposit of the Bramhagiri coast along the southeast coast of Odisha, India.In the present study, both dry and wet processes [...] Read more.
The present investigation deals with the development of a process flow sheet for recovering strategic mineral monazite concentrate from a lean-grade offshore placer deposit of the Bramhagiri coast along the southeast coast of Odisha, India.In the present study, both dry and wet processes are investigated to improve the recovery and purity of monazite. The results of the pre-concentration studies reveal that by using multi-stage spiral concentrators, the Total Heavy Minerals [THM] have been upgraded to 97.8% with a monazite content of 0.33% from a feed sample containing 4.72% total heavy minerals and 0.01% monazite content. The beneficiation studies revealed that the feed was initially subjected to a high-tension separator, and the non-conducting fraction of the high-tension roll was further subjected to magnetic separation. The magnetic product was again subjected to a flotation process followed by cleaning of the flotation product using a magnetic separator. This magnetic product contains 98.89% monazite with 84% recovery and 0.28% yield from a spiral product containing 0.33% monazite and qualifies for extracting rare earths. It is worth recovering monazite mineral from even lean-grade deposits, as it is a source of uranium, thorium, and rare earth elements and is very high in demand for humankind due to technological advancements. In view of this, monazite recovery is not to be considered for the economic profitability of the process but for strategic requirements. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Precious and Critical Mineral Beneficiation and Extraction)
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14 pages, 9117 KiB  
Article
Modified Diglycolamide Resin: Characterization and Potential Application for Rare Earth Element Recovery
by Junnile L. Romero, Carlito Baltazar Tabelin, Ilhwan Park, Richard D. Alorro, Joshua B. Zoleta, Leaniel C. Silva, Takahiko Arima, Toshifumi Igarashi, Takunda Mhandu, Mayumi Ito, Steffen Happel, Naoki Hiroyoshi and Vannie Joy T. Resabal
Minerals 2023, 13(10), 1330; https://doi.org/10.3390/min13101330 - 14 Oct 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2572
Abstract
Rare earth elements (REEs) are crucial for green energy applications due to their unique properties, but their extraction poses sustainability challenges because the global supply of REEs is concentrated in a few countries, particularly China, which produces 70% of the world’s REEs. To [...] Read more.
Rare earth elements (REEs) are crucial for green energy applications due to their unique properties, but their extraction poses sustainability challenges because the global supply of REEs is concentrated in a few countries, particularly China, which produces 70% of the world’s REEs. To address this, the study investigated TK221, a modified extraction chromatographic resin featuring diglycolamide (DGA) and carbamoyl methyl phosphine oxide (CMPO), as a promising adsorbent for REE recovery. The elemental composition and functional groups of DGA and CMPO on the polystyrene-divinylbenzene (PS-DVB) support of TK221 were confirmed using scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The adsorption kinetics of neodymium (Nd), yttrium (Y), cerium (Ce), and erbium (Er) followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm, indicating monolayer chemisorption. Furthermore, iron (Fe) adsorption reached apparent equilibrium after 360 min, with consistent Fe adsorption observed at both 360 min and 1440 min. The inclusion of Fe in the study is due to its common presence as an impurity in most REE leachate solutions. The Fe adsorption isotherm results are better fitted with the Langmuir isotherm, implying chemisorption. Maximum adsorption capacities (qmax) of the resin were determined as follows: Nd (45.3 mg/g), Ce (43.1 mg/g), Er (35.1 mg/g), Y (15.6 mg/g), and Fe (12.3 mg/g). ATR-FTIR analysis after adsorption suggested that both C=O and P=O bands shifted from 1679 cm−1 to 1618 cm−1 and 1107 cm−1 to 1142 cm−1 for Y, and from 1679 cm−1 to 1607 cm−1 and 1107 cm−1 to 1135 cm−1 for Ce, implying possible coordination with REEs. These results suggest that TK221 has a huge potential as an alternative adsorbent for REE recovery, thus contributing to sustainable REE supply diversification. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Precious and Critical Mineral Beneficiation and Extraction)
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17 pages, 12408 KiB  
Article
Composite Collectors for the Flotation of Refractory Alkaline Rock-Type Rare-Earth Ores
by Chunfeng Li, Zhichao Liu, Zhenjiang Liu, Jiajun Liu, Guang Li, Yuhui Tian and Mingliang Zhou
Minerals 2023, 13(8), 1025; https://doi.org/10.3390/min13081025 - 31 Jul 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1226
Abstract
Alkaline rock-type rare-earth (RE) ores have significant utilisation value. However, the exploitation of such resources faces great challenges owing to the complex mineral and element assemblages. Composite collectors exhibit excellent performances, which may provide solutions to the flotation problem of alkaline rock-type RE [...] Read more.
Alkaline rock-type rare-earth (RE) ores have significant utilisation value. However, the exploitation of such resources faces great challenges owing to the complex mineral and element assemblages. Composite collectors exhibit excellent performances, which may provide solutions to the flotation problem of alkaline rock-type RE ores. Therefore, 16 collectors typically used in RE ores flotation were selected. Flotation tests were performed to identify collectors with high selectivity and collection ability for RE minerals, then nine composite collectors were prepared by combining the satisfactory collectors. The flotation performances of single and composite collectors for RE minerals were examined, and the composite collector FA301 with different carbon chain lengths was identified as the best one. When FA301 was applied in optimal conditions of slurry temperature, grinding size, collector and inhibitor dosage, RE concentrate yield of 6.29%, REO grade of 32.013%, and recovery of 59.02% were achieved. According to the results of the zeta potential, FTIR, and XPS test, the functional groups (dominated by carboxyl groups) in FA301 chemically adsorbed onto the main active sites (La, Ce, Y, etc.) on the surface of RE minerals. The findings can provide scientific basis for the development of efficient collectors to facilitate the exploitation of RE resources. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Precious and Critical Mineral Beneficiation and Extraction)
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