UNICO INCORPORATED (AZ) (fka UNCO)

[GOLDENBOLLOX]

Extractive metallurgy
Extractive metallurgy is the practice of separating metals from their ore, and refining them into a pure metal. In order to convert a metal oxide or sulfide to a metal, the ore must be reduced either chemically or electrolytically.

In general ore bodies are first broken up through crushing and/or grinding in order to obtain particles small enough that each particle is either mostly valuable or mostly waste. Various separation techniques are then employed to concentrate particles of value and discard waste. In this way, extractive metallurgists are interested in three general streams: feed, concentrate (valuable metal oxide/sulfide), and tailings (waste).

Ore bodies often contain more than one valuable metal. So, the feed might be from an ore body, from a concentrate stream, or even from the tailings of a previous process.