Lixiviants and solutions are fundamental components of hydrometallurgy, a process that uses aqueous chemistry to extract metals from ores, concentrates, or recycled materials.
A liquid medium that selectively extracts the desired metal from the ore or material to be leached rapidly and completely, and from which the desired metal can then be recovered in a concentrated form(Mindat.Org, n.d.).
Other chemicals may break down or weaken the gangue materials, but the lixiviants themselves will target the desired ore. The majority of leaching lixiviants do this by changing the pH of the material, causing the ore to come loose and lose its bounds to the waste rock(The Power of Solutions and Lixiviants for Separating Ore from Waste, n.d.).
The term solution just refers to any combination of water and other chemicals designed to assist in leaching(The Power of Solutions and Lixiviants for Separating Ore from Waste, n.d.). In hydrometallurgy, a solution refers to the aqueous liquid medium that contains dissolved metal ions after the leaching process.
This solution is created when metal-bearing ores are treated with chemical solvents (lixiviants) that dissolve the target metals into the liquid phase. The solution typically contains metal salts or complexes and serves as the basis for subsequent purification, concentration, and metal recovery steps.
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Reference:
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Mindat.org. (n.d.). Retrieved April 23, 2025, from https://www.mindat.org/glossary/lixiviant
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The Power of Solutions and Lixiviants for Separating Ore from Waste. (n.d.). Retrieved April 23, 2025, from https://www.btlliners.com/the-power-of-solutions-and-lixiviants-for-separating-ore-from-waste
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