The unique properties of certain metals have made them indispensable in manufacturing advanced technological devices and for use in the green economy. However, these metals are not infinite, and the average ore grades in mines have been decreasing in recent decades. This study examines energy consumption as a function of ore grade decline for Nickel, Cobalt, and platinum group metals (PGMs), using simulations created with HSC Chemistry software. A limit of recovery (LOR) for each commodity was also defined. A comparative analysis of the evolution of ore grades, energy costs, and market prices was additionally carried out. According to the simulations, extracting nickel from sulfide ore tailings would be profitable if the price doubled. As for Cobalt, it would only be feasible if the market price increased considerably. For PGMs, even if the ore grade reached the LOR, it would still be profitable to recover them under certain circumstances explored in the paper.

某些金属的独特性能使其在制造先进技术设备和用于绿色经济中不可或缺。然而，这些金属并非取之不尽，近几十年来矿山的平均矿石品位一直在下降。本研究使用 HSC Chemistry 软件创建的模拟，检查能源消耗与镍、钴和铂族金属 (PGM) 矿石品位下降的关系。还定义了每种商品的回收限度 (LOR)。此外还对矿石品位、能源成本和市场价格的演变进行了比较分析。根据模拟，如果价格翻倍，从硫化矿尾矿中提取镍将有利可图。至于钴，只有在市场价格大幅上涨的情况下才可行。对于铂族金属，