Recovery
also known as metal recovery · extraction recovery
Recovery is the mass of metal in the product divided by the mass of metal in the feed, expressed as a percentage. In a solvent extraction circuit it is set by the number of extraction stages, the O/A ratio and the extractant's distribution coefficient under the operating pH. Where the process has recycles, recovery must be calculated over the whole circuit rather than over individual units.
Why it matters in practice
Recovery and grade trade against each other, and optimising one in isolation normally degrades the other. The economically correct target is rarely the maximum achievable recovery, because the last few percentage points usually demand disproportionate stage count and organic inventory.
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Reference entry GL-RECOVERY. Definitions on this page describe engineering practice in hydrometallurgical process design; they are not a substitute for test work on your own material.