Implementation of Solvometallurgical Processing in the Recovery of Valuable Metals from a Sulfide Ore

Abstract

It has been demonstrated that the traditional hydrometallurgical method is still economically viable in several industrial applications such as Bayer, Boix, Platsol, Sherrit-Gordon, and so on. The conventional extraction technique of valuable metals from their ores using an aqua medium has several challenges. The following can be listed for the illustration of this: (1) Inorganic acids used during the leaching process have been proven to be non-environmentally friendly and ready to lead to non-selective processes in general, except in rare cases used in alkaline environments. (2) Special linings are required in the reactors used due to the corrosive impact of acids such as HCl and H2SO4, especially when leaching at high temperatures, rendering all processes costly. (3) Practically, using inorganic acids while leaching samples containing amorphous silicate phases leads to gel formation. Solvometallurgy overcomes these challenges by substituting the aqueous phase for other polar solvents, such as polar molecular organic or ionic solvents. The advantage of this substitution lies in the ability to manipulate metal ion distribution using solvents with varying solvation properties. This review examines the potential of solvometallurgical processes (solvoleaching) over conventional hydrometallurgy as viable alternatives for metal extraction from sulfide ores. It highlights the key distinctions between hydrometallurgy and solvometallurgy while emphasizing the potential economic and environmental advantages solvometallurgy offers.