With each year that passes Hydrometallurgy Equipment are being more widely used to recover base metals from ores and concentrates. Generally these processes involve liquid-solid separation of metal-bearing liquors from barren residues. This may be done by countercurrent decantation, thickening and filtration, or filtration or centrifuging only.

Practically all hydrometallurgical processes involve leaching of solids to dissolve valuable constituents. This usually is followed by a liquid‐solids separation before producing the final product. The liquid‐solids separation step requires careful investigation because:

1. Soluble values must be recovered to a very high degree for economic purposes.

2. Final liquor volume must be minimized to reduce capital and operating costs of later steps.

3. Usually large amounts of gangue solids are associated with the digested pulp requiring care in minimizing wash volumes.

4. The colloidal solids are strongly dispersed by retention times and pH conditions in leaching. This necessitates flocculation investigations to achieve desired results.

5. Operation must be dependable under severe conditions of pH, abrasion, fast settling solids, temperature, etc. Equipment must have flexibility to allow efficient operation under even abnormal fluctuations.

6. An appreciable percentage of initial investment is required for this portion of the plant.

Choice of method is governed by chemical and physical characteristics of the pulps; cost of labor, power, materials, and waste disposal; and even by the amount of capital available when building plans are under way. Since all these controlling factors change with time and location and with technological advances, the separation method must be re-evaluated when new plants or expansion programs are contemplated.

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