What the review covers
Kursunoglu examines critical-metal recovery from mine and processing tailings, focusing on leaching, selective separation and purification in recent literature.
What the author found
The reviewed recovery routes depend on mineralogy and solution chemistry. Strong mineral acids can extract metals but also dissolve unwanted elements. Organic-acid and biological approaches are discussed as alternatives requiring further development.
Practical limits
The author identifies reagent consumption, selectivity, energy use, waste generation and scale-up as constraints. Results from different tailings and leach solutions cannot be treated as one recovery performance.
Further research proposed
The author calls for more selective processes, lower energy and reagent demands, and integration of resource recovery with tailings rehabilitation.