Geometallurgy, mineral processing, hydrometallurgy, biometallurgy and pyrometallurgy

The method of mixing geology or geostatistics with metallurgy, or more precisely, extractive metallurgy, to build a spatially or geologically based prediction model for mineral processing plants is known as geometallurgy. It is utilised in the hard rock mining industry to control and mitigate risk during the design of mineral processing plants.

Mineral processing is the process of separating valuable minerals from waste rock, or gangue, in crude ores and mineral products. It is the initial process that most ores go through once they are mined in order to generate a more concentrated material for extractive metallurgy techniques.

Hydrometallurgy is a technique for extracting metals from their ores in the area of extractive metallurgy. Hydrometallurgy is the process of extracting metals from ores, concentrates, and recycled or residual materials using aqueous solutions. Pyrometallurgy, vapour metallurgy, and molten salt electrometallurgy are processing processes that complement hydrometallurgy.

Biometallurgy is a term that refers to biotechnological processes that involve microorganisms interacting with metals or metal-bearing materials. Biomining and bioremediation are the two most researched branches of the biometallurgical science, and they are used on a significant scale all over the world.

Pyrometallurgy is an extractive metallurgy branch. Thermal treatment of minerals, metallurgical ores, and concentrates is used to cause physical and chemical changes in the materials, allowing valuable metals to be recovered.