Our country is rich in nonferrous metal resources, especially tungsten resources. The reserves and mining volume of tungsten ore rank first in the world. China’s tungsten reserves account for approximately 47% of the world’s total resources, and its industrial reserves account for 51% of the world’s total tungsten industry reserves. China’s tungsten resources are relatively concentrated, with reserves in Jiangxi and Hunan provinces accounting for more than 54% of the country’s reserves. The development of China’s tungsten resources has been discovered in Huashan, Yuxi, Jiangxi Province in 1907. Mining began in 1908 and has a history of a hundred years. About 80% of the reserves have been exploited, and the utilization rate of wolframite reserves has exceeded 90 %, scheelite exceeds 75%, and many old mine resources are exhausted. If there is no new reserve increase in the near future, my country’s tungsten resources will gradually deplete. Not only tungsten resources are like this, but other non-ferrous metal resources are also facing the same serious problems.
The residue obtained after extracting tungsten from tungsten concentrate through alkali leaching is usually called tungsten slag. After decades of production, the accumulation has reached more than one million tons without treatment, and new tungsten slag is produced every year. These slags not only place a great burden on the environment, but also waste the country’s nonferrous metal resources to a large extent. Because tungsten slag contains other than tungsten. It also contains valuable elements such as iron, manganese, tin, scandium, tantalum, and niobium. It is a very rich non-ferrous metal resource. Today, when mineral resources are increasingly depleted, especially with the current rise in non-ferrous metal prices, it is rare to find it in decades. In this period, how to comprehensively utilize tungsten slag to recover valuable elements, enable the sustainable development of non-ferrous metal resources, and at the same time reduce the environmental pollution caused by the increasing accumulation of tungsten slag, has very important socio-economic and strategic significance.This project realizes the comprehensive utilization of tungsten slag and achieves “zero waste”. It not only recovers precious tungsten and scandium, but also recovers a large amount of iron and manganese. It also obtains enrichments such as tin, tantalum, and niobium, which provide other The industry provides raw materials so that non-ferrous metal resources can be fully recycled. At the same time, it promotes the application of scandium and provides a strong backing for the upgrading of scandium products. The clean comprehensive treatment of tungsten slag solves the environmental pressure caused by the accumulation of large amounts of tungsten slag without causing secondary pollution. It is a true resource recycling and has extremely important practical significance for my country’s sustainable development.