Abstract
It has been demonstrated that the traditional hydrometallurgical method is still
economically viable in several industrial applications such as Bayer, Boix, Platsol, Sherrit-
Gordon, and so on. The conventional extraction technique of valuable metals from their
ores using an aqua medium has several challenges. The following can be listed for the
illustration of this: (1) Inorganic acids used during the leaching process have been proven
to be non-environmentally friendly and ready to lead to non-selective processes in general,
except in rare cases used in alkaline environments. (2) Special linings are required in
the reactors used due to the corrosive impact of acids such as HCl and H2SO4, especially
when leaching at high temperatures, rendering all processes costly. (3) Practically, using
inorganic acids while leaching samples containing amorphous silicate phases leads to
gel formation. Solvometallurgy overcomes these challenges by substituting the aqueous
phase for other polar solvents, such as polar molecular organic or ionic solvents. The
advantage of this substitution lies in the ability to manipulate metal ion distribution
using solvents with varying solvation properties. This review examines the potential
of solvometallurgical processes (solvoleaching) over conventional hydrometallurgy as
viable alternatives for metal extraction from sulfide ores. It highlights the key distinctions
between hydrometallurgy and solvometallurgy while emphasizing the potential economic
and environmental advantages solvometallurgy offers.