Oxidized Ores as Future Resource for Platinum Group Metals: Current State of Research

Abstract

The platinum group elements (PGE), which are used in many high technology applications, are classified as critical metals by the EU. Therefore, research has to focus on potential alternative resources. Oxidized ores are found in the weathered zones of common sulfidic deposits, such as the Bushveld and the Great Dyke, and could be considered as potential future resources. The grades and reserves are high. However, due to geochemical and mineralogical changes induced by weathering, extraction of PGE is still limited and uneconomic. The current state of research on oxidized PGE ores in geosciences and processing is summarized.

X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) Study of the Products Formed on Sulfide Minerals Upon the Interaction with Aqueous Platinum (IV) Chloride Complexes

“…The increasing industrial demand for PGEs and their limited natural sources require the investigation of the genesis of PGE ores and new approaches to the recovery technologies [4], secondary processes and environmental behavior of engineered PGE species [5,6]. Platinum-group element ores are mainly associated with ultramafic-mafic rocks and, little is known about the interaction of Pt-bearing aqueous solutions with sulfide minerals [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. Platinum-group element deposits of hydrothermal origin exist, and mechanisms of hydrothermal transportation of PGEs [9][10][11][12], including the biological transport and transformation [21][22][23][24] have been studied since the end of the 1980s.…”