Sustainable processing of mineral resources

Abstract

This paper reviews some of the recent challenges in the sustainable processing of primary mineral resources and discusses the technical prospects for meeting these challenges. The second part describes the integrated approach of geometallurgy being a prerequisite for improving resource efficiency along the production chain of minerals and metals. The different elements of a geometallurgical program are discussed and examples for ongoing geometallurgical research and education as pursued at Luleå University of Technology are presented.