Abstract On-going technological developments, especially in the field of microelectronics and communication have reflected in concomitant increase in the demand for strategic metals such as tantalum (Ta) and niobium (Nb). The extraction of these two metals from ore deposits and secondary resources is based on the generic extractive metallurgical techniques known from the non-ferrous metals value chains. However, their operational particularities and especially the downstream refining remain a particular challenge. To this end, the existing and emerging processes for preparation of raw materials of Ta and Nb, leaching and recovery of pure metals are reviewed. The upstream operations and the downstream extractive metallurgical processes are discussed. The different sub-processes making part of the hydrometallurgical processing of the two metals, including leaching and solvent extraction are described, with their advantages and limitations highlighted. The selective recovery of Ta and Nb from the leachates is most commonly realized by solvent extraction and stripping which are therefore extensively covered. In the same context, the most widely used and promising extractants are compared in the light of their separation efficiency and level of handling hazard.

中文翻译：

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钽铌提取冶金技术综述

摘要 持续的技术发展，特别是在微电子和通信领域，反映了对钽 (Ta) 和铌 (Nb) 等战略金属的需求随之增加。从矿床和二次资源中提取这两种金属是基于有色金属价值链中已知的通用提取冶金技术。然而，他们的运营特殊性，尤其是下游炼油，仍然是一个特殊的挑战。为此，综述了现有和新兴的钽和铌原料制备、纯金属浸出和回收工艺。讨论了上游操作和下游提取冶金过程。不同的子过程构成了两种金属湿法冶金加工的一部分，描述了包括浸出和溶剂萃取在内的方法，并强调了它们的优点和局限性。从浸出液中选择性回收 Ta 和 Nb 最常见的是通过溶剂萃取和汽提来实现，因此被广泛涵盖。在相同的背景下，根据分离效率和处理危险程度，对使用最广泛和最有前途的萃取剂进行了比较。