Special issue 'hydrometallurgical processing of base metal sulphides'

Base metals (and any associated PGMs and/or PMs) are generally recovered from sulphide concentrates in the initial stage using pyrometallurgical processing. However, as the grade and quality of sulphide resources continue to decline, it is becoming harder to generate feed materials that are suitable for smelting without incurring penalties. Apart from being employed for sulphide mattes, hydrometallurgical processes provide options for materials that are not amenable to smelting due to their low grade and/or impurity levels. The metal extraction step is typically characterised by approaches that range from pressure to atmospheric leaching in reactors, to leaching in vats or heaps (both chemical and biological) to in situ recovery. This Special Issue includes the following 6 articles: High temperature pressure oxidation of a low-grade nickel sulphide concentrate with control of the residue composition, by R.G. McDonald, Jian Li, P.J. Austin, 55 refs.; Research on behaviour of iron in the zinc sulphide pressure leaching process, by Shu-Chen Qin, Kai Xi Jiang, Hai-Bei Wang, Bang-Sheng Zhang, Yu-Fang Wang, Xue-Dong Zhang, 22 refs.; Effect of a small amount of iron impurity in sphalerite on xanthate adsorption and flotation behaviour, by Jiang Yu, Xiqun Wu, Zhiqiang Zhao, Yangge Zhu, Sigang Luo, 32 refs.; Cupric and chloride ions: leaching of chalcopyrite concentrate with low chloride concentration media, by C.M. Torres, Y. Ghourbani, P.C. Hernandez, F.J. Justel, M.I. Aravena, O.O. Herreros, 63 refs.; Zeta potential of pyrite articles in concentrated solutions of monovalent seawater electrolytes and amyl xanthate, by A. Paredes, S.M. Acuna, L. Gutierrez, P.G. Toledo, 36 refs.; The effect of sodium alginate and serpentine in chalcopyrite flotation, by Guangjiu Pan, Guofan Zhang, Qing Shi, Wei Chen, 51 refs..
Base metals (and any associated PGMs and/or PMs) are generally recovered from sulphide concentrates in the initial stage using pyrometallurgical processing. However, as the grade and quality of sulphide resources continue to decline, it is becoming harder to generate feed materials that are suitable for smelting without incurring penalties. Apart from being employed for sulphide mattes, hydrometallurgical processes provide options for materials that are not amenable to smelting due to their low grade and/or impurity levels. The metal extraction step is typically characterised by approaches that range from pressure to atmospheric leaching in reactors, to leaching in vats or heaps (both chemical and biological) to in situ recovery. This Special Issue includes the following 6 articles: High temperature pressure oxidation of a low-grade nickel sulphide concentrate with control of the residue composition, by R.G. McDonald, Jian Li, P.J. Austin, 55 refs.; Research on behaviour of iron in the zinc sulphide pressure leaching process, by Shu-Chen Qin, Kai Xi Jiang, Hai-Bei Wang, Bang-Sheng Zhang, Yu-Fang Wang, Xue-Dong Zhang, 22 refs.; Effect of a small amount of iron impurity in sphalerite on xanthate adsorption and flotation behaviour, by Jiang Yu, Xiqun Wu, Zhiqiang Zhao, Yangge Zhu, Sigang Luo, 32 refs.; Cupric and chloride ions: leaching of chalcopyrite concentrate with low chloride concentration media, by C.M. Torres, Y. Ghourbani, P.C. Hernandez, F.J. Justel, M.I. Aravena, O.O. Herreros, 63 refs.; Zeta potential of pyrite articles in concentrated solutions of monovalent seawater electrolytes and amyl xanthate, by A. Paredes, S.M. Acuna, L. Gutierrez, P.G. Toledo, 36 refs.; The effect of sodium alginate and serpentine in chalcopyrite flotation, by Guangjiu Pan, Guofan Zhang, Qing Shi, Wei Chen, 51 refs..