Advances in Mineral Processing and Hydrometallurgy—4th Edition

A special issue of Metals (ISSN 2075-4701). This special issue belongs to the section "Extractive Metallurgy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 March 2026 | Viewed by 383

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Guest Editor
Kroll Institute for Extractive Metallurgy, Mining Engineering Department, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80401, USA
Interests: extractive metallurgy; mineral processing; waste minimization; recycling
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Please consider submitting some of your excellent work in a Special Issue of Metals devoted to aspects of mineral processing and hydrometallurgy. This also includes characterization along with recycling and waste minimization. Possible topics include mineralogy, geometallurgy, thermodynamics, kinetics, comminution, classification, physical separations, liquid–solid separations, leaching, solvent extraction, ion exchange, activated carbon, precipitation, reduction, process economics, and process control. Suggested application areas are in gold, silver, PGMs, aluminum, copper, zinc, lead, nickel, and titanium. Critical metal articles on topics such as lithium, antimony tellurium, gallium, germanium, cobalt, graphite, indium, and rare earths are also welcome. Both primary and recycled aspects will be considered. Thank you.

Prof. Dr. Corby G. Anderson
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • characterization
  • economics
  • comminution
  • classification
  • separations
  • recycling
  • leaching
  • concentration
  • precipitation
  • reduction
  • waste minimization

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

15 pages, 2781 KB  
Article
Sodium Percarbonate for Eco-Efficient Cyanide Detoxification in Gold Mining Tailings
by Ainur Berkinbayeva, Shynar Saulebekkyzy, Bagdaulet Kenzhaliyev, Kenzhegali Smailov, Azamat Yessengaziyev, Nargiza Nurtazina, Diana Karim and Yerkem Birlikzhan
Metals 2025, 15(10), 1162; https://doi.org/10.3390/met15101162 - 21 Oct 2025
Viewed by 261
Abstract
Cyanide-containing effluents from hydrometallurgical gold extraction pose significant environmental risks due to their high toxicity. This study investigates the detoxification of cyanide-laden tailings from the Altyntau Kokshetau gold extraction facility (Kazakhstan) using sodium percarbonate in alkaline conditions. Employing response surface methodology (RSM) and [...] Read more.
Cyanide-containing effluents from hydrometallurgical gold extraction pose significant environmental risks due to their high toxicity. This study investigates the detoxification of cyanide-laden tailings from the Altyntau Kokshetau gold extraction facility (Kazakhstan) using sodium percarbonate in alkaline conditions. Employing response surface methodology (RSM) and central composite design (CCD), we optimized key parameters—pH (10–12), sodium percarbonate dosage (1.5–4.0 g), reaction time (10–40 min) and temperature (20–25 °C)—achieving 83.33% detoxification efficiency within 40 min and 99.99% after 8 h, reducing cyanide from 443.2 mg/L to 0.05 mg/L. The process follows biphasic pseudo-first-order kinetics ((k1 = 0.0517) min–1 initially, (k2 = 0.01665) min–1 subsequently), driven by HO radical-mediated oxidation of CN to CNO, as described by (CN+H2O2CNO+ H2O). pH emerged as the dominant factor, optimizing radical stability and CN protonation (pKa ≈ 9.21) at pH 10. Infrared spectroscopy confirmed the presence of cyanide complexes ([Au(CN)2], [Fe(CN)6]4) in tailings, underscoring the need for effective treatment. The method ensures compliance with stringent environmental standards (e.g., ICMI limit of 0.2 mg/L), offering a scalable, eco-efficient solution for mitigating the environmental footprint of gold mining operations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Mineral Processing and Hydrometallurgy—4th Edition)
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