Critical Minerals for Energy Transition: Advancing Energy Security and Sustainable Manufacturing

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 421

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Energy, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Clayton, VIC 3168, Australia
Interests: technoeconomic evaluation; flowsheeting using METSIM; life cycle assessment; process engineering; process modelling; simulation; optimisation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Applied Mechanics, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology Allahabad, Prayagraj 211004, Uttar Pradesh, India
Interests: green and renewable energy; energy policy; fluid dynamics; CFD
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail
Guest Editor
Department of Applied Mechanics, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology Allahabad, Prayagraj 211004, Uttar Pradesh, India
Interests: green energy; minerals; supply chain; life cycle assessment; circular economy; aerodynamics; aeroelastic; aeroacoustics; CFD

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The transition towards a low-carbon economy has placed critical minerals at the forefront of industrial innovation, accounting for a significant reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions. This Special Issue explores the interconnected supply chains of critical minerals and their impact on sustainability to ensure energy security and a sustainable environment. It addresses topics such as critical mineral extractions, conventional and new processes, recycling, material efficiency, and the integration of renewable energy such as solar and wind in the production processes. Through comprehensive analyses and interdisciplinary research, this issue seeks to uncover innovative solutions to reduce emissions and enhance the sustainability of critical metal manufacturing, while maintaining robust and secure supply chains. The Special Issue is dedicated to showcasing the latest advances, challenges, and policy perspectives in critical minerals.

Dr. Nawshad Haque
Dr. Akshoy Ranjan Paul
Dr. Shalini Verma
Guest 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.

Keywords

  • critical minerals
  • energy transition
  • green energy
  • low-carbon economy
  • sustainable supply chains
  • mineral recycling and circular economy
  • energy security
  • emission reduction
  • renewable energy
  • integration
  • material efficiency
  • geopolitical risks
  • circular economy
  • sustainable environment

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

16 pages, 9459 KiB  
Article
Recovery of Tetrahedrite from Mining Waste in Spain
by Ester Boixereu-Vila, Paula Adánez-Sanjuán, Ramón Jiménez-Martínez, Concepción Fernández-Leyva and Dulce Gómez-Limón
Minerals 2025, 15(7), 703; https://doi.org/10.3390/min15070703 - 30 Jun 2025
Abstract
The present study is part of the Horizon Europe-START project, which aims to recover tetrahedrite-group minerals present in mine dumps to be used as raw materials for the manufacture of thermoelectric devices. The aim of this work is to identify the mining waste [...] Read more.
The present study is part of the Horizon Europe-START project, which aims to recover tetrahedrite-group minerals present in mine dumps to be used as raw materials for the manufacture of thermoelectric devices. The aim of this work is to identify the mining waste facilities selected in Spain for the recovery of tetrahedrite and to outline the mineral processing operations performed on samples from each site to separate and concentrate this mineral. Ore deposits across Spain were selected based on the potential presence of tetrahedrite in their mining waste. A total of five deposits have been sampled, at which subsequent mineral separation and concentration tests have been conducted. A separation flowsheet is proposed in order to extract a high-purity tetrahedrite concentrate. Experimental results indicate two distinct options for separation approaches, depending on a key parameter that proves decisive in the processing of this mineral, which is whether the mineral paragenesis includes siderite. This study has demonstrated the technical feasibility of concentrating minerals of the tetrahedrite group through simple, cost-effective physical separation techniques—specifically magnetic and gravity separation—where the liberation size of the tetrahedrite exceeds 0.063 mm. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop