Extractive Metallurgy - Mineral Processing

Mineral Processing

Mineral processing involves the processes used to manipulate the particle size of solid raw materials and to separate valuable materials from materials of no value, referred to as gangue. Usually, particle size reduction, also referred to as comminution, is required to permit efficient separation of the valuable materials from gangue. Separation processes take advantage of physical properties of the materials in order to separate them from each other. These physical properties can include density, particle size and shape, electrical and magnetic properties, and surface properties. Since many size reduction and separation processes involve the use of water, solid-liquid separation processes are also a subject of mineral processing.