Ahmad Ghahreman PhD, P.Eng

Please read Prof. Ghahreman’s biography here: https://hydrometallurgy.ca/index.php/team-2/director/

Ahmad's primary area of interest is hydrometallurgical processing of resource materials. While at Barrick, he was involved in development of new technologies for metals recovery (e.g. gold and copper) and immobilization of toxic species (e.g. arsenic and mercury). Ahmad's long-term research goals at Queen's University will focus on the extractive metallurgy and mineral processing aspects associated with the following research areas:

• Hydrometallurgy and biohydrometallurgy: The key research activities in this area will be to advance the fundamental and technical understanding of the aqueous industrial processes and development of novel processes for sustainable and environmentally friendly hydrometallurgical treatment of resource materials. Some of the interesting topics in this area are: (a) thiosulphate and cyanide leaching of gold, (b) processing of sulphidic concentrates, such as enargite and chalcopyrite, (c) solvent extraction, ion exchange and electrowinning.
• Mineral processing wastes and their remediation: Some mineral processing wastes may have irremediable impact on the environment, and solutions to these problems can be developed through well-designed university level research programs. Among the interesting topics in this area are arsenic and mercury immobilization.
• Electrochemical dissolution of complex minerals (fundamental studies): The dissolution process of most sulphide minerals (e.g. chalcopyrite, pyrite, enargite, etc) is electrochemical in nature, and well-planned electrochemical studies appear to be the only way to reveal the underlying mechanism of the associated leaching reactions. Fundamental electrochemical studies enable us to understand the mechanisms of dissolution, passivation and catalysis and these are closely linked to successful process design.
• Flowsheet design and modeling: Modeling of the processes is the preferred method for studying of the alternative process configurations. Models enable us to reveal some issues such as water balance or excess acid generation, which initially were not apparent. Generally, the research in this area will focus on the development of models for mineral processing operations.

Please review Prof. Ghahreman’s publications here: https://hydrometallurgy.ca/index.php/publications/journals/