The Ural Scientists Found Out How to Extract Non-Ferrous Metals from Very Complex Raw Materials

09:45, February 9, 2023

Technology will help recycle millions of tons of waste and reduce environmental impact [photo report]

Ural scientists have proposed a technology for processing raw materials. It will help get rid of the accumulated waste dumps and extract nonferrous and precious metals from them. On the one hand, the technology allows to extract more than 95 percent of valuable metals. It also enables the recycling of millions of tons of waste ore containing harmful substances such as arsenic. The technology is already being tested at a metallurgical plant in Kazakhstan and has shown initial effective results.

"We have developed the technology of atmospheric leaching of polymetallic refractory raw materials. This is a non-traditional, very complex raw material from which no base and precious metals are currently extracted in Russia. Existing Russian technologies almost never process such materials because they are of low quality and therefore unprofitable. Our technology makes it possible to include such raw materials in processing, to process them, and to extract nonferrous and precious metals," says Denis Rogozhnikov, Head of the Laboratory of Advanced Technologies for Complex Processing of Mineral and Technogenic Raw Materials, Nonferrous and Ferrous Metals at the Ural Federal University.

There is a lot of metallurgical waste in the Urals, Russia and the world. These wastes include mineral and technogenic raw materials. Tens of millions of tons of such waste have been accumulated by the Ural enterprises alone during decades of mining operations, the scientist adds.

"We recycle these materials and extract the valuable metals. Then we recycle the toxic components and convert them into safe, insoluble compounds. After such processes, they can be stored in special landfills. However, the waste will be safe and its volume will be greatly reduced. In fact, we recover at least 90 percent of the metals and recycle 95 percent of the hazardous components," adds Denis Rogozhnikov.

Early pilot tests in Kazakhstan demonstrated the viability of the technology. According to Rogozhnikov, the Kazakhs are still more interested in processing complex raw materials. Natural resources in Kazakhstan are more depleted. Russia does not yet have such an acute problem with raw materials. The country continues to produce relatively abundant, high-quality raw materials and leaves the difficult ones for the future.

Reference

Modern technologies for the extraction of nonferrous and precious metals do not always allow for the efficient extraction of metals from complex ores. Scientists are therefore looking for new ways to expose such refractory ores and further isolate copper, zinc, gold, silver, platinum and other metals.

Employees of the Laboratory of Advanced Technologies for Complex Processing of Mineral and Anthropogenic Raw Materials, Nonferrous and Ferrous Metals of UrFU are working on the solution of this problem. Their research is supported by the National Project "Science and Universities" and the Ural Interregional Research and Education Center for Advanced Production Technologies and Materials.

The news article was translated by UrFU International Marketing Office.
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