Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
4.1
2.2
Journals
Minerals
Special Issues
Critical Metal Minerals, 2nd Edition
share announcement

Critical Metal Minerals, 2nd Edition

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2025 | Viewed by 1816

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Pei Ni

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research, Institute of Geofluids, Frontiers Science Center for Critical Earth Material Cycling, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
2. Joint Research Center for Circum-Pacific Strategic Mineral Resources, Nanjing 210000, China
Interests: hydrothermal ore deposits; mineral, fluid and melt inclusion; mineral resource prospecting and exploration; tectonics and metallogeny
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Ruoshi Jin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Tianjin Center, China Geological Survey (North China Center for Geoscience Innovation), Tianjin 300170, China
2. Key Laboratory of Uranium Geology, China Geological Survey, Tianjin 300170, China
Interests: sandstone-type uranium deposits; mineral resource prospecting and exploration
Prof. Mincheng Xu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Joint Research Center for Circum-Pacific Strategic Mineral Resources, Nanjing 210000, China
2. Nanjing Center, China Geological Survey, Nanjing 210016, China
Interests: regional metallogenesis; mineral resources prospecting and exploration
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Tiangang Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Joint Research Center for Circum-Pacific Strategic Mineral Resources, Nanjing 210000, China
2. Nanjing Center, China Geological Survey, Nanjing 210016, China
Interests: hydrothermal ore deposits; ore-forming fluids; regional metallogenesis; mineral resources prospecting
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Yinhang Cheng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Tianjin Center, China Geological Survey (North China Center for Geoscience Innovation), Tianjin 300170, China
2. Key Laboratory of Uranium Geology, China Geological Survey, Tianjin 300170, China
Interests: uranium deposits; tectonics and metallogeny; mineral resource prospecting and exploration
Dr. Junyi Pan

E-Mail
Guest Editor
1. State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research, Frontiers Science Center for Critical Earth Material Cycling, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
2. Joint Research Center for Circum-Pacific Strategic Mineral Resources, Nanjing 210000, China
Interests: granite-related W-Sn deposits; porphyry-epithermal ore deposits; fluid and melt inclusion; LA-ICP-MS analytical techniques
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Yitao Cai

E-Mail
Guest Editor
School of Materials Engineering, Jinling Institute of Technology, Nanjing 211169, China
Interests: mineralogy; petrology; magmatic ore deposits; mineral resources evaluation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

An increasingly wide range of mineral materials are used to enable the technologies that sustain our living standard in modern society. In particular, “Critical Metals” or “Critical Minerals” have been regarded as crucial strategic resources for global high-technology applications. In 2021–2022, we announced the Special Issue "Critical Metal Minerals" (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/minerals/special_issues/Critical_Metal_Minerals), and subsequently multiple contributions were published. We are now launching the 2nd Edition of the Special Issue, and we invite the latest research on critical metals to be published in this new Special Issue.

The critical metals generally consist of four major elemental groups: rare metals (e.g., Li, Be, Rb, Cs, W, Sn, Nb, Ta, Zr, Hf, U, and Th), rare earth elements (REEs, e.g., La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, Sc, and Y), rare dispersed elements (e.g., Ga, Ge, Se, Cd, In, Te, Re, and Tl), and other precious metals (e.g., PGE, Cr, and Co). Most of these elements are present at very low abundances in the Earth’s upper crust and/or are difficult to efficiently extract and utilize. The rapidly growing demand for critical mineral resources worldwide requires new understandings of the characterization of metal-host minerals, the geochemistry and ore genesis of critical metal deposits, and exploration advances aiding in the discovery of new economic targets. In this regard, the present Special Issue is focused on relevant topics, including, but not limited to (1) geochemical exploration, data handling, and statistical analysis for critical minerals of economic and/or environmental importance; (2) mineralogy, geochemistry, geochronology, fluid evolution, and isotopic constraints on the genesis of critical mineral deposits; (3) experimental advances in critical metal behavior during metallogenic processes; (4) geological controls of the global or regional distribution of critical mineral deposits; (5) 3D modeling of critical metal deposits; and (6) the resource assessment of critical minerals and developments in metal extraction and recovery.

We look forward to high quality submissions that complement contributions published as part of the 1st Edition.

Prof. Dr. Pei Ni
Prof. Ruoshi Jin
Prof. Mincheng Xu
Dr. Tiangang Wang
Dr. Yinhang Cheng
Dr. Junyi Pan
Dr. Yitao Cai
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

  • critical metals
  • geologic characteristics and setting
  • geochemical exploration
  • statistical data analysis
  • mineral geochemistry
  • petrogenesis and ore genesis
  • 3D modeling
  • resource assessment
  • mineral processing

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

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

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (2 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

20 pages, 6276 KiB  
Article
Critical Minerals in Tibetan Geothermal Systems: Their Distribution, Flux, Reserves, and Resource Effects
by Di Wang, Fei Xue, Lijian Ren, Xin Li, Songtao Wang and Xie Qibei Er
Minerals 2025, 15(1), 93; https://doi.org/10.3390/min15010093 - 20 Jan 2025
Viewed by 466
Abstract
Critical mineral resources (CMRs) are essential for emerging high-tech industries and are geopolitically significant, prompting countries to pursue resource exploration and development. Tibetan geothermal systems, recognized for their CMR potential, have not yet been systematically evaluated. This study presents a comprehensive investigation of [...] Read more.
Critical mineral resources (CMRs) are essential for emerging high-tech industries and are geopolitically significant, prompting countries to pursue resource exploration and development. Tibetan geothermal systems, recognized for their CMR potential, have not yet been systematically evaluated. This study presents a comprehensive investigation of the spatial distributions, resource flux, reserves, and resource effects of CMRs, integrating and analyzing hydrochemical and discharge flow rate data. Geochemical findings reveal significant enrichment of lithium (Li), rubidium (Rb), cesium (Cs), and boron (B) in the spring waters and sediments, primarily located along the Yarlung Zangbo suture and north–south rift zones. Resource flux estimates include approximately 246 tons of Li, 54 tons of Rb, 233 tons of Cs, and 2747 tons of B per year, underscoring the mineral potential of the geothermal spring waters. Additionally, over 40,000 tons of Cs reserves are preserved in siliceous sinters in Tagejia, Gulu, and Semi. The Tibetan geothermal systems thus demonstrate considerable potential for CMRs, especially Cs, through stable discharge and widespread distribution, also serving as indicators for endogenous mineral exploration and providing potential sources for lithium in exogenous salt lakes. This study evaluates the CMR potential of the Tibetan geothermal systems, advancing CMR exploration while contributing to the future security of CMR supplies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Critical Metal Minerals, 2nd Edition)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 5748 KiB  
Article
Investigating Physicochemical Methods to Recover Rare-Earth Elements from Appalachian Coals
by Rachel Yesenchak, Scott Montross and Shikha Sharma
Minerals 2024, 14(11), 1106; https://doi.org/10.3390/min14111106 - 30 Oct 2024
Viewed by 1011
Abstract
The demand for rare-earth elements is expected to grow due to their use in critical technologies, including those used for clean energy generation. There is growing interest in developing unconventional rare-earth element resources, such as coal and coal byproducts, to help secure domestic [...] Read more.
The demand for rare-earth elements is expected to grow due to their use in critical technologies, including those used for clean energy generation. There is growing interest in developing unconventional rare-earth element resources, such as coal and coal byproducts, to help secure domestic supplies of these elements. Within the U.S., Appalachian Basin coals are particularly enriched in rare-earth elements, but recovery of the elements is often impeded by a resistant aluminosilicate matrix. This study explores the use of calcination and sodium carbonate roasting pre-treatments combined with dilute acid leaching to recover rare-earth elements from Appalachian Basin coals and underclay. The results suggest that rare-earth element recovery after calcination is dependent on the original mineralogy of samples and that light rare-earth minerals may be more easily decomposed than heavy rare-earth minerals. Sodium carbonate roasting can enhance the recovery of both light and heavy rare-earth elements. Maximum recovery in this study, ranging from 70% to 84% of total rare-earth elements, was achieved using a combination of calcination and sodium carbonate roasting, followed by 0.25 M citric acid leaching. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Critical Metal Minerals, 2nd Edition)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-2
Back to TopTop