Mining/Metallurgical Solid Waste Treatment and Resource Utilization: Towards a Circular Economy

Dear Colleagues,

Global mining and metallurgy generate billions of tonnes of solid waste annually (e.g., tailings, slag), posing severe environmental risks while containing valuable untapped resources. Addressing the treatment and utilization of mining and metallurgical solid waste to extract mineral resources is a pressing requirement for the sustainable development of mineral engineering. Solid waste treatment and utilization contributes to the circular economy by reducing the need for new resource extraction and the environmental impact of mining and metallurgical processes.

For this Topic Collection, we welcome the submission of cutting-edge research related to the generation, basic characteristics, treatment, and utilization of mining/metallurgical solid waste. Contributions should delve into key theories and new technologies and methods to transform waste streams into valuable secondary resources. A wide range of topics will be covered, including but not limited to the following:

• Selective metal recovery (e.g., using novel hydro-/pyrometallurgical techniques).
• Large-scale utilization (e.g., the use of slag in construction and tailings in backfilling).
• The synthesis of waste-derived materials (e.g., ceramics, geopolymers, cementitious materials).
• Secondary resource upgrading (e.g., converting recovered metals/minerals into high-purity feedstock for batteries, catalysts, and alloys).

Prof. Dr. Longhua Xu
Prof. Dr. Lei Xie
Prof. Dr. Qingye Lu
Collection Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Minerals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.