Metallurgical and Materials Engineering

Preface

Dear Colleagues,

Hydrometallurgy is an important part of the extractive metal industry involved in the recovery of metals from ores, concentrates, technogenic and other secondary and urban mining sources; it plays an interesting role in the expansion of minerals processing industry. There are numerous hydrometallurgical process technologies used for recovering metals, such as leaching, solvent extraction/ion exchange, metals electro recovery and raffination; stabilization and remediation of tailings/waste.

Modern hydrometallurgical processes to extract metals from their raw materials are faced with many issues related to both the chemistry, thermodynamics, kinetics, and engineering aspects of the processes involved. These issues include polymetallic and refractory character of ore, declining ore grade, fluctuation in mineralogy throw the deposits body; which would influence the hydrometallurgical route chosen. The above mentioned also applies to urban mining sources, which are complex, multimetal, with the content of toxic and hazardous substances, difficult to liberate and crucially not friendly in the processes of refining and obtaining commercially pure metals. The development of technologies to improve cleaner production, primary through energy efficiency, water/resources consumption and waste stabilization/remediation across the circuit is also an important factor to be considered. Therefore, there is an increasing scientific need to develop novel solutions to these existing problems, to implement solid environmentally sustainable practices in the recovery of these valuable metals.

Papers on recent advances, and review articles, particularly concerning the fundamental mechanism of a chemical reaction and the development of novel techniques and technologies in the commercial processing of mineral resources from their primary and secondary sources, are selected for inclusion in this Special Issue on Hydrometallurgical operations and processes.

Our guest editor Dr. Miroslav Sokić, Science advisor and Director of the Institute for Technology of Nuclear and Other Mineral Raw Materials (ITNMS). Dr. Sokic is an expert in extractive metallurgy. During his scientific work, he is active in the investigation domain of hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical processing of non-standard polymetallic ores, concentrates of non-ferrous, rare and secondary raw materials.

Editor in Chief

Prof. Dr Željko Kamberović