The focus will be on rare metals, i.e. less common or minor metals, such as antimony, bismuth, barium, beryllium, boron, calcium, chromium, gallium, germanium, hafnium, indium, lithium, manganese, molybdenum, platinum group metals, rare earth metals, rhenium, scandium, selenium, sodium, strontium, tantalum, tellurium, and tungsten. Rare metals are technology essential, and many are critical for the energy transition. At the same time, the grade of rare metals in ores is declining. Consequently, it is urgent to develop new sustainable, energy saving and resource efficient processes and approaches for rare metal extraction and processing.
Rare metal processing will cover biometallurgy, hydrometallurgy, and electrometallurgy and various techniques for mineral beneficiation, extraction, separation, and purification in lab. and pilot scale.