Principles of Extractive Metallurgy

By Prof. Tarun kumar kundu | IIT Kharagpur

Learners enrolled: 170 | Exam registration: 4

ABOUT THE COURSE:

Basic principles involved in processing of minerals, extraction and refining of metals will be covered in this course to reflect the developments in the technology and science in extractive metallurgy. Unit process based approach will be followed instead of current practice of descriptive presentation on a metal-by-metal basis. Emphasis will be given to the understanding of the basic philosophy behind the unit processes, their application in the overall extraction flow-chart for extraction to a specific set of metals based on their ore type, association impurity in are and refining criteria.

INTENDED AUDIENCE: Undergraduate (both Major and Minor) students of Metallurgical Engineering, Metallurgy and Materials Science, Materials Engineering and Process Metallurgy, Chemical Engineering

PREREQUISITES: Higher Secondary level Chemistry, Mathematics and Thermodynamics

INDUSTRY SUPPORT: Aluminium Extraction Industries (e.g., Vedanta Aluminium, National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO), Hindalco Aluminium etc); Copper Extraction Industries (e.g., Hindustan Copper Ltd., Bhagyanagar India Ltd. etc); Zinc, Lead, Silver, Cadmium Extraction Industries (e.g., Hindustan Zinc Ltd., Ambuja Zinc Ltd. Etc); Titanium and Rare Earth Producers (Indian Rare Earths Limited, Kerala Minerals and Metals Ltd. etc)

Summary

Course Status :	Upcoming
Course Type :	Core
Language for course content :	English
Duration :	12 weeks
Category :	Metallurgy and Material science & Mining Engineering Minor in Metallurgy
Credit Points :	3
Level :	Undergraduate
Start Date :	20 Jan 2025
End Date :	11 Apr 2025
Enrollment Ends :	27 Jan 2025
Exam Registration Ends :	14 Feb 2025
Exam Date :	03 May 2025 IST

Note: This exam date is subject to change based on seat availability. You can check final exam date on your hall ticket.

Page Visits

Course layout

Week 1: Classification of Metals, Import Uses of Metals, Overview of the Routes of Metal extraction and Refining

Week 2: Types and Occurrence of Metal bearing Minerals, Mineral Beneficiation Process: Unit Steps, Evaluation of Mineral Beneficiation Operation

Week 3: Unit Processes for Physical Separation of Minerals: Crushing and Grinding (Liberation), Screening and Classification, Solid-Liquid Separation, Automated Sorting

Week 4: Unit Processes for Physical Concentration of Minerals: Gravity Separation, Magnetic Separation, Electrostatic Separation, Froth Flotation

Week 5: Classification and Use of Fuels in Metallurgical Processes, Characterization of Fuels, Coke-Making, Flame Temperature Calculation

Week 6: Types of Metallurgical Furnaces, Fuel Utilization in Furnaces, Heat Exchanger, Furnace Refractories, Agglomeration of ore

Week 7: Unit Processes for Chemical Treatment of Ores: Calcination, Roasting, Thermodynamics of Roasting: Predominant Area Diagram (PDA)

Week 8: Unit Process for Reduction: Smelting, Thermodynamics of Reduction, Application in Iron, Zinc, Lead, Tin, Mg extraction

Week 9: Unit Process for Extraction from Sulfides: Matte Smelting, Conversion, Application to Copper and Nickel Extraction, Flash Smelting, Continuous Conversion

Week 10: Unit Process for Halide-metallurgy and Refining: Kroll Process; Refining of Lead, Iron, Copper, Titanium, Uranium, Silicon; New Methods of Extraction and Refining

Week 11: Unit Process in Hydrometallurgy: Leaching, solvent extraction, ion-exchange, adsorption on charcoal, reduction of ions in solutions, application in Gold, Nickel, Alumina

Week 12: Unit Process in Electrometallurgy: Electrolytic Cell Reduction and Refining, Application in Aluminum; Environmental Concern and Sustainable Metal Extraction

Books and references

1. Principles of Extractive Metallurgy by H. S. Ray and A. Ghosh

2. Extraction of Nonferrous Metals by H. S. Ray, R. Shridhar and K. P. Abraham

3. Physical Chemistry of Metallurgical Processes by M. Shamsuddin

4. Treatise on Process Metallurgy, Vol. 1, 2, 3, edited by S. Seetharaman

Instructor bio

Prof. Tarun kumar kundu

IIT Kharagpur

Prof. Tarun kumar kundu in the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering of IIT Kharagpur. He is did B.E in Metallurgical Engineering from REC (NIT) Durgapur and M.E in Metallurgy from IISc Bengaluru. He obtained PhD from the Department of Metallurgical Engineering and Geosciences, Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden. After joining IIT Kharagpur in 2006, he has been teaching UG core courses ‘Principles of Extractive Metallurgy’ and ‘Transport Phenomena in Metallurgical Processes’. He has carried out extensive and in-depth Ab-initio modeling on designing collectors for flotation and extractants for solvent extraction. He also works on thermodynamic modeling on leaching and roasting of Ti bearing minerals, CFD based modeling on steelmaking. He has one international patent and filed two Indian patents on eco-friendly and economic production of Ti and Al. Further details are available in http://www.metal.iitkgp.ac.in/People/facultyDetails/29

Course certificate

The course is free to enroll and learn from. But if you want a certificate, you have to register and write the proctored exam conducted by us in person at any of the designated exam centres.

The exam is optional for a fee of Rs 1000/- (Rupees one thousand only).

Date and Time of Exams: May 3, 2025 Morning session 9am to 12 noon; Afternoon Session 2pm to 5pm.

Registration url: Announcements will be made when the registration form is open for registrations.

The online registration form has to be filled and the certification exam fee needs to be paid. More details will be made available when the exam registration form is published. If there are any changes, it will be mentioned then.

Please check the form for more details on the cities where the exams will be held, the conditions you agree to when you fill the form etc.

CRITERIA TO GET A CERTIFICATE

Average assignment score = 25% of average of best 8 assignments out of the total 12 assignments given in the course.

Exam score = 75% of the proctored certification exam score out of 100

Final score = Average assignment score + Exam score

Please note that assignments encompass all types (including quizzes, programming tasks, and essay submissions) available in the specific week.

YOU WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR A CERTIFICATE ONLY IF AVERAGE ASSIGNMENT SCORE >=10/25 AND EXAM SCORE >= 30/75. If one of the 2 criteria is not met, you will not get the certificate even if the Final score >= 40/100.

Certificate will have your name, photograph and the score in the final exam with the breakup.It will have the logos of NPTEL and IIT Kharagpur .It will be e-verifiable at nptel.ac.in/noc.

Only the e-certificate will be made available. Hard copies will not be dispatched.

Once again, thanks for your interest in our online courses and certification. Happy learning.

- NPTEL team