Advances in the extractive metallurgy of selected rare and precious metals

Abstract

The broad field of extractive metallurgy, often perceived as an unimportant point of light in the universe of technology, has undergone significant, fundamental changes in the past 30 years. Improved extraction technologies now permit greater metal recovery, reduce the time that metal values are chemically locked up and diminish the economic impact of environmental regulations. Much of this accomplishment is due to the application of solvent extraction. As evidenced by improvements in the extraction of rare and precious metals, research in extractive metallurgy technology not only exists, but has achieved palpable results.