Recent advances in indium metallurgy: A review

ABSTRACT

The by-products of zinc refineries are used as the primary mineral resources for the commercial production of indium. The discarded LCDs containing adequate amount of indium is rather worth as its secondary resources compared to the by-products of zinc refineries. Mining and recycling rates of indium, respectively from minerals and waste LCDs are in progress to meet its huge demand. Recycling of the LCDs has been dominating over mining, as presently 480t of indium are produced annually from mining, however, that of 650t annually from recycling. Different aspects of the extractive metallurgy of indium are summarized in this review paper.

KEYWORDS:

• Indium
• pyrometallurgy
• hydrometallurgy
• biometallurgy
• recycling
• recovery

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Prof (Dr.) M.R. Nayak, President, Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan University, for providing infrastructure and encouragement throughout.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.