Processing of secondaries and wastes for metal extraction

Recycling of metallic wastes is an integral part of sustainable development. Growing demand for metals, fast depletion of economic deposits with increasing volume of metallic waste generation and reduced energy and environmental pollution in recycling as compared to primary processing have rendered recycling a necessity. CSIR-NML realized the importance of metallic waste recycling way back in 1960s and initiated programs on recycling various metals from secondary resources and wastes containing base, precious, energy critical elements, rare metals and rare earth metals and today CSIR-NML pursues major project in these areas. This article briefly outlines some of the interesting R&D developments in this area at CSIR-NML and their immediate future prospects.