Minerals, Volume 16, Issue 4

The Mahu Sag, a hydrocarbon-rich depression within the Junggar Basin, hosts significant petroleum resources. Here, the Permian Fengcheng Formation shale oil reservoirs have emerged as a primary exploration target. This study investigates fracture dev...

Leaching carbon residue (LCR) is a carbonaceous solid waste generated during the hydrometallurgical recycling of spent lithium-ion batteries. Although its high graphite content offers substantial potential for resource recovery, the residual heavy me...

Fuzzy logic-based mineral potential mapping was applied to the Tisová–Klingenthal Cu–Co VMS deposit (Erzgebirge) in the Czech–German border region. The study area is characterized by heterogeneous geological and geochemical d...

Revitalisation of contaminated brownfield sites is essential for sustainable development, particularly near sensitive ecological areas like Natura 2000 sites. The lagoon in Slovenia’s Regional Park Šturmovci, an artificial wastewater con...

The conservation of tuff- and coral rock-built architectural heritage structures (AHS) is challenging because access to original tuff and coral rock has become difficult and severely limited due to urbanization, land reclamation, the depletion of sto...

A climatic transition from arid to humid conditions occurred during the deposition of the Permian Pingdiquan Formation in the Shishugou Sag, Junggar Basin, Northwest China. This study reconstructs the paleoenvironmental evolution and organic matter (...

The peripheries of rare-metal metallogenic systems frequently host skarn-type or hydrothermal vein-type Pb-Zn deposits, though their genetic connections with parental systems remain debated. The newly identified Gariatong W-Mo polymetallic metallogen...

The northern part of the Great Xing’an Range in China hosts a prominent Au mineralization belt, where Mesozoic clastic rock-hosted Au deposits represent the mineralization type. A study of the Baoxinggou Au deposit in this region might provide...

The performance of remote sensing-based mineral alteration extraction is significantly restricted in the vegetation area. Spectral unmixing is one of the effective methods to address the vegetation problem during mineral alteration extraction. Howeve...

In order to explore the outstanding problems, such as poor mechanical performance, of recycled aggregate from construction waste in the application of backfills, this study innovatively used accelerated carbonation treatment technology to pretreat th...

The Huoyanshan Cu-Zn volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposit, located in the North Qilian Orogenic Belt, China, is of significant economic importance. This study provides new constraints on the ore-forming processes through high-resolution in situ...

The concentration of inevitable ionic species in regenerated water significantly alters the flotation characteristics of rare earth minerals, thereby hindering the effective extraction of bastnaesite. Therefore, it is of great significance to study t...

The Rio Grande Rise (RGR) is the largest oceanic plateau in the South Atlantic and represents a key natural laboratory for understanding oceanic plateau formation, deep-sea circulation, ecosystem functioning, and ferromanganese crust development. Thi...

This study is centered on REE distribution in several minerals exhibiting exceptionally rare mineralogical and chemical compositions in the 1.8 Ga Madeira albite-enriched granite (AEG). This is a peralkaline A-type granite and corresponds to the Made...

The distribution and evolution of complex formation pressures fundamentally control natural gas accumulation patterns and the prediction of favorable zones. To elucidate the controlling factors behind complex pressure distribution in tight sandstone...

The reliability of bulk geochemical proxies for provenance analysis in heterogeneous clastic systems remains a critical yet underexplored issue. This study investigates the Lower Permian Shanxi Formation in the Southern North China Basin (SNCB) using...

This study integrates LA-ICP-MS zircon U–Pb ages and the first zircon trace element data from metasedimentary and metaigneous rocks of the Nyong Complex (NyC) in the NW Congo Craton, southern Cameroon, to constrain its petrogenesis, tectonic se...

The Zhongdian Arc is an important copper polymetallic ore cluster in China’s Sanjiang Tethyan Metallogenic Domain, and the Langdu deposit is a representative porphyry–skarn Cu deposit in this region. This study aims to constrain the timin...

SAG grinding mills represent critical energy-intensive operations in copper concentrators, accounting for 30%–50% of total plant energy consumption. The accurate prediction of mill power draw and production rate under varying operational condit...

The Wulonggou gold district is located on the northern margin of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau and represents the most promising area for mineral exploration within the East Kunlun mineralized belt in Qinghai Province. Previous studies on this gold...

This study investigates the heterogeneity of pore structures in lacustrine shale gas reservoirs, with a specific focus on shales from the Lower Cretaceous Shahezi Formation in the Lishu Fault Sag of the Songliao Basin. By integrating multi-scale char...

High-intensity conditioning (HIC) is a common pretreatment process for enhancing the flotation of fine-grained minerals. This study introduces fractal theory into the structural design of pulp conditioning impellers. A fractal blade with multi-scale...

The lithium resource reserves in Xinjiang’s Dahongliutan reach 1.1 million tons, making it one of the most representative spodumene deposits in China. Through process mineralogy analysis, the ore was identified as having inherent characteristic...

The Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous Oloy complex was formed in the setting of convergence between the Chukotka microcontinent and the Kolyma–Omolon margin. Its evolution reflects the closure of the South Anyui Ocean, with controversial tim...

This review presents recent results focused on immobilization of zeolites onto inexpensive aluminum substrate using plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) processing in various electrolyte solutions applying different electrical regimes. PEO is recogniz...

Phosphatic deposits from the Lower Cambrian Pedroche Formation (Sierra de Córdoba, Spain) provide key insights into early diagenetic mineralization processes during the Cambrian radiation. This study applies an integrated multi-analytical appr...

Population growth and rapid urbanization have significantly increased construction activities and the demand for building materials. It is estimated that approximately 39% of global CO₂ emissions are associated with the construction sector, with near...

The subduction polarity of the Mongol–Okhotsk Ocean (MOO) during the Mesozoic remains contentious, with competing models advocating for southward, northward, or bidirectional subduction. The Xifengshan area in the northern Great Xing’an R...

Chromite beneficiation tailings (CBTs) represent a significant environmental challenge, while simultaneously containing valuable metals that remain largely unrecovered. In this study, a sequential thermochemical–hydrometallurgical route was inv...

The rapid advancement of high-technology industries critically depends on the supply of rare earth elements (REEs), which constitute strategic raw materials for knowledge-intensive sectors. This study proposes an integrated methodological framework f...

High-pressure grinding rolls (HPGRs) are critical in mineral processing, making comprehensive research and analysis of their performance of great significance. This study focuses on the HPGR-3516 test prototype and develops an analytical model that c...

The inevitable toxicity and bioaccumulation of rare earth elements (REEs) have posed potential pollution risks to the environment. In this study, two major clay minerals from weathered ion-adsorption rare earth deposits—tubular halloysite and p...

Submarine volcanic-hosted iron oxide deposits are critical archives for reconstructing the interplay between hydrothermal activities and marine redox conditions, yet the genesis of these deposits remains controversial. Here, we present a comprehensiv...

Climate change is reshaping hydrologic regimes in snow-dominated watersheds, with important implications for mine rock drainage quantity and contaminant mobilization. This study quantifies potential long-term changes in drainage quantity by coupling...

A structurally complex Paleozoic succession in southwestern Sinai hosts uranium and associated metals, and brittle deformation controls fluid flow and ore localization. The study integrates structural mapping with mineralogical, geochemical, and radi...

This study investigates the comminution behavior and beneficiation potential of lithium-bearing ores, zinnwaldite from Cínovec (Czech-Germany border) and lepidolite from Villasrubias (Spain) by integrating mineralogical analysis and mechanical...

Extensive igneous intrusions in the northern Datong Coalfield have significantly altered coal seams. The Chaigou coalmine is an area in the Datong Coalfield that has been severely affected by igneous intrusions, yet it has remained a research gap to...

Natural hydrogen is regarded as a potential resource for the global energy transition, and its accumulation is closely linked to water–rock reactions involving Fe²⁺ bearing minerals and effective sealing conditions. The Liaohe Basin, located on...

Neoproterozoic iron formations (NIFs), deposited during Cryogenian glaciation events, are critical for understanding early Earth oxidation events and the evolution of glacial–interglacial environments. Apatite, a common accessory mineral in iro...

Recent deep exploration in the northern Sichuan Basin has advanced our understanding of Lower Cambrian Canglangpu Formation carbonate reservoirs. However, the characteristics, genesis, and distribution of the reservoir, as well as future exploration...

Coal fly ash (CFA), the fine particulate by-product of coal combustion in thermal power plants, has traditionally been regarded as an environmental liability [...]

The timing of uranium mineralization in the Xiangshan ore field has long been controversial. Although various geochronometers have been applied by previous researchers, including pyrite Rb-Sr, mica Ar-Ar, and fluorite Sm-Nd, the results remain incons...

The Mahuaping deposit is the largest Be-W-F deposit in the Jinshajiang–Ailaoshan metallogenic belt, Sanjiang region, SW China, with more than 72,700 t WO₃, 41700 t BeO and 2.3 Mt CaF₂. Despite recent studies, the ore-forming process of the Mahu...

Gallium (Ga) in coal is a nationally emerging strategic mineral resource, yet research on using petrophysical methods to detect the spatial variation in critical metals in coal seams remains limited. Analyzing the distribution characteristics of Ga-r...

This Special Issue focuses on innovative approaches and methodologies for valorizing waste, including mineral waste and end-of-life (EoL) products, through the recycling and recovery of critical and strategic metals, including, but not limited to, ra...

This study investigates the origin and Nb–Ta enrichment mechanisms of the Middle Triassic Nare Alkaline Rocks in Gerze, central Tibet, using petrological, geochemical, and geochronological data. U–Pb zircon dating constrains the trachyte...

Artisanal gold mining (AGM) activities are increasing globally and rely on rudimentary methods, such as amalgamation, to recover gold. In this study, mercury (Hg) metallurgical balances were conducted in 18 operations and gold (Au) balances in 35 ope...

Froth flotation remains a cornerstone separation technology in the global minerals industry, fundamentally reliant on the selective attachment of hydrophobic particles to air bubbles [...]

Data acquired from a processing system using industrial-scale electrical resistance tomography (ERT) could provide valuable information on the operational performance of hydrocyclones. Tomography images of hydrocyclones, in general, are used to analy...

Neutron gamma density (NGD) plays an increasingly important role in petroleum exploration and development. However, current NGD logging fails to obtain reliable results in anomalous mineral formations (such as anhydrite, halite and coal). To address...