A review of the technologies for antimony recovery from refractory ores and metallurgical residues

The global reserve of antimony is gradually declining while its demand continuously grows, rendering antimony an increasingly scarce metal. Antimony has been highlighted as a critical raw material in the EU owing to its economic significance and high supply risk. Due to the dispersed uses and low antimony concentration of the main antimony end-use, i.e. flame retardant in plastics, little antimony has been recovered from waste plastics to date. Many countries will have to rely on recovering antimony from refractory ores and metallurgical residues. For the purpose of efficient and selective antimony recovery with minimal economic cost and environmental impact, researchers proposed various innovative pyrometallurgical, hydrometallurgical, and electrochemical processes. This paper reviews the state-of-the-art technologies for the antimony separation and recovery from refractory ores and metallurgical residues. The advantages and limitations of these technologies are discussed with respect to antimony recovery efficiency and the impurity level of the products. Furthermore, future perspectives regarding technological trends and industrial applications are discussed.