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: 30 June 2024 | Viewed by 3796

Special Issue Editors

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)
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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
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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
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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
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
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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

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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
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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
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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
Viewed by 1598
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
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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
Viewed by 682
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
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