Handbook of Extractive Metallurgy. Volume 3. Precious metals, refractiry metals, scattered metals, radioactive metals, rare earth metals/ Справочник по добывающей металлургии. Том 3

Extractive metallurgy is that branch of metallurgy that deals with ores as raw material and metals as finished products. It is an ancient art that has been transformed into a modem science as a result of developments in chemistry and chemical engineering. The present volume is a collective work of a number of authors in which metals, their history', properties, extraction technology, and most important inorganic compounds and toxicology are systematically described.
Metals are neither arranged by alphabetical order as in an encyclopedia, nor according to the Periodic Table as in chemistry textbooks. The system used here is according to an economic classification which reflects mainly the uses, the occurrence, and the economic value of metals. First, the ferrous metals, i.e., the production of iron, steel, and ferroalloys are outlined. Then, nonferrous metals are subdivided into primary, secondary, light, precious, refractory, scattered, radioactive, rare earths, ferroalloy metals, the alkali, and the alkaline earth metals.
Although the general tendency today in teaching extractive metallurgy is based on the fundamental aspects rather than on a systematic description of metal extraction processes, it has been found by experience that the two approaches are complementary. The student must have a basic knowledge of metal extraction processes: hydro-, pyro-, and electrometallurgy, and at the same time he must have at his disposal a description of how a particular metal is extracted industrially from different raw materials and know what are its important compounds. It is for this reason, that this Handbookhas been conceived. <...>