The Changing Role of Hydrometallurgy
B. MEDDINGS, Senior Research Chemist;
O. J. 1. EVANS, Director, Research and Development Division,
Sherritt Gordon Mines Limited
This paper is mainly concerned with the present and probable future role of hydrometallurgy in the production of base metals. The economie and technological bases of the hydrometallurgical plants built and operative in the mid-fifties are compared to those in production in the mid-sixties. The trends observed are extrapolated and sorne estimates made concerning the probable size and type of hydrometallurgical plants which will be operative in the mid-seventies. The impact of emerging socio-economic factors such as pollution control and the market demand for specialized metal products which favour hydrometallurgical recovery processes are also discussed
Mots Clés:
ammonium sulphate, cobalt, hydrometallurgy, nickel, sulphuric acid, Cobalt, copper, metals, nickel, Operation, Plants, Reduction, Sulphate, Sulphates
