Minerals Webinar | Critical Metals Extraction Processes for a Greener Future
the chairs
1st Webinar on Minerals
Critical Metals Extraction Processes for a Greener Future
Today, we are experiencing rapid growth in the number of initiatives contributing to a sustainable energy transition. However, in many cases, there is a limited supply of critical metals to support future demand for manufacturing devices for electric transport, green energy production, and the ever-increasing consumption of communication and entertainment gadgets. From this perspective, it is imperative to develop new routes to exploit atypical (non-metallurgical) sources of metals, thereby lowering the gap between future demand and the expected supply and avoiding the hindrance of energy transition goals. In this context, the use of complex raw materials in the metallurgical industry, such as urban residues, low-grade mineral occurrences, as well as industry wastes (slags) and effluents, for example, is not only desirable but necessary in order to achieve such goals. Moreover, thermodynamic and kinetic modeling processes, as well as transport phenomena related to such challenging reaction systems, provide important foundations for the development of efficient extraction routes, supporting efficient and economically viable plant and equipment projects.
Date: 21 August 2025
Time: 2:00PM CEST | 8:00AM EDT | 8:00PM CST (Asia)
Webinar ID: 848 4007 4896
Webinar Secretariat: journal.webinar@mdpi.com
Meet Our Speakers
Mr. Gabriel Medeiros
Chemical and Materials Engineering Department (DEQM), Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), Brazil;
Gabriel is a Materials Engineer who graduated from PUC-Rio in December 2008, with an MSc from the same institution in 2011. He is a specialist in melting, the primary and secondary refining of steel, as well as the thermodynamics and kinetics of chemical reactions, with extensive experience in electric arc furnace (EAF) technology for steelmaking. This includes expertise in both chemical and electrical aspects, as well as alloy addition modeling for ladle furnaces. He is a Steelmaking Technical Manager at Gerdau and enrolled in the doctoral program at DEQM/PUC-Rio, expected to be completed in 2027.
Prof. Eduardo Junca
Postgraduate Program in Materials Science and Engineering (PPGCEM), Unesc, Brazil;
Professor Eduardo Junca has a PhD in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering from USP with a sandwich period at the University of Utah, a master’s in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering also from USP (2009), graduated in Production Engineering from Universidade Nove de Julho (2018), and graduated in Technology in Metallurgy and Materials from the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Espírito Santo. He is currently a Permanent Professor of the Postgraduate Program in Materials Science and Engineering at the Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense, where he develops research projects in the research areas of urban mines, extractive metallurgy, and waste and materials processing.
Dr. Carlos Oba
Department of Mining and Petroleum Engineering, USP, Brazil.;
Dr. Carlos Oba has a degree in Geology from the University of São Paulo (1985), a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from the Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse/France (2000), and a PhD in Mineral Engineering from the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo (2000). He holds a post-doctorate from the Institute of Geosciences of the University of São Paulo (2002). He has experience in the area of geosciences, with an emphasis on mineralogical and technological characterization of mineral raw materials, working mainly in the following areas: mineral research, mining law, the technological characterization of ores, mineral processes, phosphates, and fertilizers.
The webinar was hosted via Zoom and required registration to attend. The full recording can be found below. In order to learn about future webinars, you can sign up to our newsletter by clicking “Subscribe” at the top of the page. View the Chair's closing summary below:
Currently, we are witnessing a rapidly increasing number of initiatives contributing to a sustainable energy transition. However, there is a limited supply of critical raw materials to support future demand. In addition, technological development is required to reduce the environmental impacts and improve productivity.
In this context, this webinar highlights the ongoing developments and discussions regarding the production of critical materials from unconventional sources, such as Nb and rare earth elements.
The Special Issue invites submissions of original scientific research associated with new extractive processes, based on the use of complex raw materials as sources for recovering critical metals, which are strongly guided by accurate thermodynamic, kinetic, and/or transport phenomena modeling.
New Extraction Processes for Critical Metals from Non-Metallurgical Resources
Guest Editors: Dr. Amilton Barbosa Botelho Junior and Dr. Rogério C.S. Navarro
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2026