About This Journal
Nonferrous Metals covers a wide range of topics including nonferrous (light, heavy, rare, precious) metal materials, geology, mining, mineral processing, metallurgy, and environmental protection. Its columns include Material Preparation and Processing, Extraction Metallurgy and Chemical Engineering, Mineral Processing and Process Mineralogy, Geology, Mining and Safety Engineering, and Environmental Science and Engineering. The journal focuses on reporting academic progress in areas such as nonferrous metal materials, intelligent manufacturing, green mining and metallurgy, intelligent mining, and environmental protection, with particular attention to hot topics like nonferrous metal materials. It is published 12 times annually. Suggested research and application areas include, but are not limited to:
● Theoretical Research: Fundamental theories and academic mechanisms in various fields of nonferrous metals, as well as theoretical exploration and academic progress in cutting-edge directions.
● Process Research: Optimization of processes such as mining, mineral processing, metallurgy, and environmental protection, along with research on process technologies for material preparation and processing.
● New Materials: Development, performance research, and application exploration of various nonferrous metal materials, including light, heavy, rare, and precious metals.
● Production Practice: Practical production techniques, engineering applications, and hands-on experience in nonferrous metal industry operations such as mining, metallurgy, and processing.
● Artificial Intelligence and Information Technology: Technical applications of intelligent manufacturing and intelligent mining in the nonferrous metal industry, along with practical research on the integration of information technologies.
Manuscript submission
Submission of a manuscript implies that the work described has not been published before; that it is not under consideration for publication anywhere else; that its publication has been approved by all co-authors, if any, as well as by the responsible authorities-tacitly or explicitly-at the institute where the work has been carried out. The publisher will not be held legally responsible should there be any compensation claims.
Authors wishing to include figures, tables, or text passages that have already been published elsewhere are required to obtain permission from the copyright owner(s) [the publisher(s) of the journal, not the authors of the paper] for both the print and online format and to include evidence that such permission has been granted when submitting their papers (Reprinted with permission from Ref. [xx]. Copyright XXXX, Publisher). Any material received without such evidence will be assumed to originate from the authors. It is the authors’ responsibility to retain an electronic or hardcopy of the permission.
Manuscripts should be submitted online via the journal's official website (https://ysjs.bgrimm.cn/). Complete instructions and an overview of the electronic online submission process are available through the general submission site. Please ensure you provide all relevant editable source files (MS Word) that contains the text, all figures and tables, and any Supplementary Information associated with the manuscript. Failing to submit these source files might cause unnecessary delays in the review and production process.
To help speed up the review process, authors are requested to provide at least 3 potential reviewers and ensure that their reviewer suggestions do not include any researchers with whom they have recent or ongoing collaborations or other close ties. Each manuscript should also be accompanied by a cover letter that summarizes the main findings of the work and its novelty, and highlights are suggested to be listed as items in the cover letter.
Articles (~7–10 journal pages, approximately 6000 words, and not more than ten display items such as figures, tables, or schemes, not less than 30 references) are peer-reviewed, in-depth reports of outstanding novel findings which also have important and general implications for specialists working in other fields. The Introduction should summarize the reasons for undertaking the work and the main conclusions that can be drawn. The Experimental should give sufficient detail (such as main materials, processes, and measurements) to enable others to repeat and compare your work. Then it is the Results and Discussion section. The Conclusion should summarize the major conclusions of the paper. In addition, a short abstract (at least 300 words) and a minimum of five keywords should be included. Supplementary Information in the form of additional figures, experimental details, movies, and so on may accompany a manuscript, and will be published online only. This material will not be edited, so it should be error-free.
Letters (~4-6 journal pages, approximately 2500 words excluding references, not more than four display items such as figures, tables, or schemes, not less than 30 references) are unsolicited, peer-reviewed short reports of outstanding novel findings that also have important and general implications for specialists working in other fields. The research reported in a Letter must stand on its own in the absence of its Supplementary Information. The first paragraph should summarize the reasons for undertaking the work and the main conclusions which can be drawn. The final paragraph should summarize the major conclusions of the paper. The essential findings presented in a Letter should be novel and should not have been published previously. Supplementary Information in the form of additional figures, experimental details (optional in text or Supplementary Information), movies, and so on may accompany a manuscript, and will be published online only. This material will not be edited, so it should be error-free.
Reviews (at least 10,000 words in length, divided into appropriate sections, and 15–20 display items such as figures, tables, or schemes, not less than 100 references) are peer-reviewed and give a general overview of a particular field, providing the reader with an appreciation of the importance of the work, a summary of recent developments, and a guide to the relevant literature. The Introduction should introduce non-specialists to the subject in a clear manner. A Review should conclude with a section titled "Summary and Outlook", in which the achievements and new challenges of the subject are presented succinctly. Biographical sketches (approximately 100 words) and portrait photographs (≥300 dpi) of the corresponding authors should be submitted. In addition, a short abstract (at least 150 words) and a maximum of six keywords should be included.
Perspectives (2-3 journal pages, approximately 1500 words, and not more than two display items such as figures, tables, or schemes, not more than 15 references) are concise reports on recent exciting research of interest to nonferrous metals-related materials scientists worldwide, including discussions of research breakthroughs and interpretations of important science and funding policies. They may provide context for the findings within a field or explain potential interdisciplinary significance. Perspectives should have no more than two authors.
Authorship
Authorship should be limited to those who have contributed substantially to the work, and every author has responsibility for the data and argument mentioned in the paper. Author contributions should be specified in the manuscript. The corresponding author must have obtained permission from all authors for the submission of each version of the paper and for any change in authorship. In addition: changes of authorship (including affiliation, order of the authors, adding or deleting authors) are not accepted after acceptance of a manuscript; request to add or delete authors at revision stage or after publication is a serious matter, and may be considered only after receipt of written approval from all authors and detailed explanation about the role/deletion of the new/deleted author. The decision on accepting the change rests with the Editor-in-Chief of the journal; upon request, authors should be prepared to send relevant documentation or data in order to verify the validity of the results.
Authorship and co-authorship should be based on a substantial intellectual contribution. It is assumed that all authors have had a significant role in the creation of an article that bears their names. Therefore, the list of authors on an article serves multiple purposes; it indicates who is responsible for the work and to whom questions regarding the work should be addressed. Moreover, the credit implied by authorship is often used as a measure of the contributors’ productivity when they are evaluated for employment, promotions, grants, and prizes.
1. The authorship credit must be reserved for individuals who have met each of the following conditions:
l Made a significant intellectual contribution to the theoretical development, system, or experimental design, prototype development, and/or the analysis and interpretation of data associated with the work contained in the article;
l Contributed to drafting the article or reviewing and/or revising it for intellectual content;
l Approved the final version of the article as accepted for publication, including references.
l Inclusion of deceased persons is deemed appropriate, as authors should be so included with a footnote reporting their death.
2. In articles with multiple authorship, the order of the authors shall be at the discretion of the authors.
3. Once the list and order of authors have been established, the list and order of authors should not be altered without the permission of all living authors of that article. Change in the author list is considered rare and exceptional, and the decision to allow such changes rests with the Editor*. An exception to such decisions is in the case of a request by an author to change their name.
4. Any part of an article essential to its main conclusions must be the responsibility of at least one author.
5. In the case of articles with multiple authors, a “corresponding” author must be designated as having responsibility for overseeing the publication process and ensuring the integrity of the final document. The corresponding author accepts the responsibility for:
l Including as co-authors all persons appropriate and none inappropriate;
l Obtaining from all co-authors their assent to be designated as such, as well as their approval of the final version of the article as accepted for publication;
l Keeping all co-authors apprised of the current status of an article submitted for publication, including furnishing all co-authors with copies of the reviewers’ comments and a copy of the published version, as appropriate.
6. Co-authors have responsibility for work submitted under their names. They should remain knowledgeable insofar as possible regarding the contents and status of the article, including the nature of any revisions.
7. If an article is revised and resubmitted to the same journal, co-authors should be asked by the corresponding author to reaffirm their assent to be listed as co-authors and to approve the revised version.
8. Co-authors added at any time during the review process or when the final version of the article is submitted for publication shall satisfy the requirements of authorship outlined on the journal website, and the corresponding author shall notify the responsible editor regarding the addition of co-authors.
9. A co-author has the right to withdraw that person’s name from an article at any time before acceptance of the article by an editor. The corresponding author shall notify the responsible editor regarding the removal of co-authors.
Responsibilities of authors
1. Authors are encouraged to have the first formal publication of their results be a peer-reviewed article.
2. Financial support of the work being reported and of the authors should be clearly acknowledged in the article, as well as any potential conflict of interest.
3. Methods and materials should be described in sufficient detail to permit evaluation and replication.
4. All data should be presented upon request by an editor to facilitate the review process.
5. When submitting an article, authors shall disclose whether or not the article has been published previously or if it is still under active consideration by another publication. In addition, if an author submits an article to another journal while that article is under review by Nonferrous Metals, the author shall immediately notify Nonferrous Metals about the additional submission.
6. When submitting an article, authors shall disclose if the article reports on research using human subjects or animals and, if so, the authors shall adhere to the requirements as specified below.
7. Plagiarism, fabrication, or falsification of any aspect of an article is unacceptable.
8. Authors should only submit original work that has neither appeared elsewhere for publication nor is under review for another publication. If authors have used their own previously published work(s) as a basis for a new submission, they are required to cite the previous work(s) and very briefly indicate how the new submission offers substantive novel contributions beyond those of the previously published work(s).
9. Authors should not discuss any aspect of an article under evaluation with reviewers of the submitted article.
10. Only those articles of a researcher’s publication record that are directly relevant to the subject matter of the article under consideration should be included in the bibliography. Furthermore, an article shall be appropriately labeled as “submitted” when still in the review process or “accepted” when it has been accepted for publication but has not yet been published.
11. If authors make use of charts, photographs, or other graphical or textual material from previously published material, the authors are responsible for obtaining written permission to use the material in the article.
12. Once an article has gone through the review process and a decision for final acceptance has been rendered, the corresponding author provides the final version of the article and supporting materials for publication. Any substantial and unauthorized changes made to the accepted article during this final stage of the publication process must be communicated in writing to the Editor*, who then will decide if a re-review is necessary. This includes the addition or removal of any citations. Failure of such notification may be considered as author misconduct.
Peer review policy
All manuscripts are subject to assessment by the Editors and/or peer review. The first evaluation of a manuscript rarely results in acceptance, but it can be possible in exceptional cases. Manuscripts are rejected by the Editors at this stage if they are insufficiently original, have serious scientific flaws, need extensive improvement in the language, or do not fall within the aims and scope of the journal. All other manuscripts of potential interest to our readership are sent for formal review, typically to at least two reviewers. Furthermore, Editors have the option of seeking additional reviews when needed. The Editor then decides whether to accept, reject, or request revisions based on the reviews and comments received. The peer-review process is single-blind. Potential reviewers are selected based on many factors, including expertise, reputation, specific recommendations, and our own previous experience of a reviewer's characteristics. Reviewers recommended by authors will only be considered when others cannot be found. Referees' identities are not released to authors or to other reviewers. Our preference is for referees to remain anonymous throughout the review process and beyond.
Guidelines for preparing a manuscript
Authors are requested to take special care with the following points when preparing manuscripts for Nonferrous Metals:
Manuscripts should be well organized, with concise language, and avoid redundant tables and figures. Authors are advised to use standard international nomenclature and express all measurements in SI units (i.e., the International System of Units). A manuscript template is available at the journal’s submission login page (https://ysjs.bgrimm.cn/). If the authors preferred not to use the template, the manuscript file should be formatted as double-spaced, single-column text (Times New Roman, 12 point) with justification. Please prepare two files (if applicable): one containing the main manuscript with all graphics and tables inserted in the text; the other containing the Supporting Information, if applicable.
Language
The journal’s language is Chinese/English. We request that the language be corrected before submission. Submissions with unsatisfactory Chinese will be returned without review.
Heading/section levels (numbered)
For articles, please use the decimal system of headings with no more than three levels.
Examples:
Introduction
1 Experimental
2 Results and Discussion
2.1…
2.2…
3 Conclusions
Reference
It is OK to have a Method section placed at the end of the text. For short papers, it is OK to have no section levels.
Title page
The title page should include:
A concise and informative title (not containing non-standard acronyms or abbreviations, usually limited to not more than 20 words, not more than 3 lines, capitalized first letter; effect, study, etc., not suggested).
The name(s) of the author(s) (full names, format as WANG Xiaoer for Chinese authors; at most two corresponding authors who should have a senior professional post; not more than 8 authors generally)
The affiliation(s) of the author(s), i.e., institution, (department), city, (state), postcode, country
A clear indication (identified with an asterisk) and an active e-mail address of the corresponding author
If available, the 16-digit ORCID of the corresponding author(s)
Abstract
It should be a single paragraph of 300 to 500 words, succinctly and clearly describing the major findings reported in the manuscript, and comprehensible to readers who did not read the paper. The abstract should not contain any undefined abbreviations or unspecified references. Abstract presents the motivation for the work, the methods applied, the results, and the conclusions drawn. Note that the expression for the background should not be more than one-third the length of the abstract.
The English abstract should in principle correspond to the Chinese abstract. However, to enhance the article's dissemination impact, it is recommended that the English abstract include more detailed coverage of the core research content, with a length of 600–800 words.
For articles written entirely in English, the English abstract should be approximately 250 words.
Keywords
5-8 keywords should be supplied, which can be used for indexing purposes. Generally, measured methods are not suggested.
Section headings
Headings should not be used in Letters, Perspectives, and Highlights. For Articles, Reviews, and Mini Reviews, please use the decimal system of headings with no more than three levels. And all headings should be numbered.
Introduction
It should briefly introduce the relevant background of the research conducted (not a comprehensive review of the specific field), the purpose of the study reported, and provide a summary of the major findings, enabling readers unfamiliar with the subject to become acquainted with the importance of the results presented; relevant references should be included. Please do not use subtitles in the introduction.
Experimental
This part should give sufficient detail to enable others to repeat and compare your work. Only truly new procedures should be described in detail here. In theoretical papers, technical details such as computational methods should likewise be confined to an appropriately named section.
Statement of human and animal rights
Manuscripts containing animal experiments must include a statement in the Experimental Section to state that permission was obtained from the relevant national or local authorities. The institutional committees that have approved the experiments must be identified, and the accreditation number of the laboratory or of the investigator, given where applicable. If no such rules or permissions are in place in the country where the experiments were performed, then this must also be clearly stated. Manuscripts with experiments with human subjects or tissue samples from human subjects must contain a disclaimer in the Experimental Section to state that informed, signed consent was obtained from either the patient or from next of kin.
Results and discussion
Conclusion
The conclusion should be different from the abstract, in a single paragraph, focusing on summarizing the major conclusions of the paper, which should stand alone.
Author contributions (optional)
Authors are required to include a statement of responsibility in the manuscript that specifies the contribution of every author.
References
In the reference list, only published literature or literature published in new articles (with available DOI numbers) and books may be cited. Citations in the text should be indicated by numbers in square brackets at appropriate positions (before periods, commas, etc.), formatted as superscripts. The top three authors of the cited article should be listed in the reference list (with the rest indicated by "et al."). Cited articles must include the full title (with the first letter of the first word capitalized). Cited articles and book chapters must include the publication year, volume and issue numbers, and the initial page number. When cited articles lack page numbers, a DOI should be provided. Articles and letters should contain at least 30 references, short reviews should contain 60 references, and full reviews should contain 100 references.
Reference examples are given as follows:
(1) Journal article
［1］LI L, BIAN Y F, ZHANG X X, et al. Economical recycling process for spent lithium-ion batteries and macro- and micro-scale mechanistic study[J]. Journal of Power Sources, 2018, 377: 70-79.
［2］WEN Y P, HE X H, DI S, et al. Comparative of malonic acid aqueous solution and malonic acid-based deep eutectic solvent for LiCoO2 cathode materials recovery: leaching efficiency and mechanism[J]. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 2023, 11(5): 110979. DOI:10.1016/j.jece.2023.110979.
［3］司金凤, 李丙亮. 基于常压酸浸的低品位红土镍矿综合利用研究[J]. 中国资源综合利用, 2023, 41(9): 5-8, 12.
SI Jjinfeng, LI Bingliang. Study on comprehensive utilization of low-grade laterite nickel ore based on atmospheric acid leaching[J]. China Resources Comprehensive Utilization, 2023, 41(9): 5-8, 12.
(2) Books (including Monograph, Proceedings, Handbook, etc.)
［4］张懿. 亚熔盐清洁生产技术与资源高效利用[M]. 北京: 化学工业出版社, 2016.
ZHANG Yi. Sub-molten salt technology-cleaner production and efficient resource utilization[M]. Beijing: Chemical Industry Press, 2016.
(3) Patents
［5］谭荣和, 刘自亮, 王恒辉, 等. 一种硫化镍精矿的氧压浸出方法: CN202110489660.0[P]. 2022-03-29.
TAN Ronghe, LIU Ziliang, WANG Henghui, et al. An oxygen pressure leaching method for nickel sulfide concentrate: CN202110489660.0[P]. 2022-03-29.
(4) Conference proceedings
［6］贺贤举, 管俊芳, 陈志强, 等. 河北邢台地区脉石英矿的包裹体研究[C]//2018年中国非金属矿科技与市场交流大会论文集. 大同, 2018: 197-202.
HE Xianju, GUAN Junfang, CHEN Zhiqiang, et al. Research on inclusions of gangue quartz ore in Xingtai Area, Hebei Province[C]// Proceedings of the 2018 China Non-metallic Minerals Science and Technology and Market Exchange Conference. Datong,2018: 197-202.
(5) Dissertations
［7］白苗苗. 硫化镍精矿直接加压浸出的实验研究[D]. 西安: 西安建筑科技大学, 2016.
BAI Miaomiao. Experimental study of nickel sulfide ore direct pressure leaching[D]. Xi'an: Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, 2016.
Abbreviations
Abbreviations should be used only if deemed necessary, and should be defined at first mention in the abstract and again in the main body of the text, and used consistently thereafter.
Units
SI units (i.e., the International System of Units) should be used throughout; non-SI units such as ppm, Å, Oe, emu, sccm, pct, M, etc., are not available. And the format for the derived units should follow a specific rule (such as m·s-1 rather than m/s).
Integrity of research and reporting
Nonferrous Metals follows the recognized publication ethics (COPE), continues to strengthen industry self-discipline, promotes the construction of academic integrity, and improves the mechanism of long-term development. This statement was developed by referring to the publication codes of ethics of some internationally renowned publishing groups. It is mainly comprised of the policies and systems of publication ethics of the Journal, to provide references for various role-players, including the authors, academic groups, editors, research sponsors, and readers.
Reporting on research involving human subjects or animals
Authors of articles reporting on research involving human subjects or animals, including but extending beyond medical research, shall include a statement in the article that the research was performed under the oversight of an institutional review board or equivalent local/regional body, including the official name of the IRB/ethics committee, or include an explanation as to why such a review was not conducted. For research involving human subjects, authors shall also report that consent from the human subjects in the research was obtained or explain why consent was not obtained.
Artificial intelligence (AI) generating text
◇ Authors should disclose the use of generative AI in preparing the article, beyond straightforward language correction, editing, and formatting.
◇ Authors are responsible for checking the validity of the output of any automated tools used in their research and preparing their manuscript.
◇ Automated tools cannot be credited as authors.
◇ Generative AI cannot be cited as a source.
Research data policy
The journal encourages authors, where possible and applicable, to deposit data that support the findings of their research in a public repository. General repositories - for all types of research data, such as figshare and Dryad, may also be used. Datasets that are assigned digital object identifiers (DOI) by a data repository may be cited in the reference list. Data citations should include the minimum information recommended by DataCite: authors, title, publisher (repository name) and identifier.
The author should transfer the copyright to the editorial office before the publication of the accepted manuscript, i.e., by signing a copyright transfer agreement (downloadable from the official website) to assign the copyright to the editorial office of Nonferrous Metals. Authors are advised to check funder requirements before opting for open access to ensure compliance.
Pay publishing fees
Nonferrous Metals has an Article Processing Charge (APC), which needs to be paid by the authors or by their research funder or institution. The normal charge is 4,000 CNY (or 600 USD) per article. The time interval from acceptance to formal publication is approximately 6 months. An expedited fee of 1,000 CNY (or 150 USD) is charged for each issue brought forward. Authors from developing countries or in special circumstances such as lack of funds may also receive discounts or APC exemptions. Authors who require more information (e.g., about waivers or discounts as provided by the journal), please contact the editorial office (E-mail: ysjs@bgrimm.com).
Proof reading
The purpose of the proof is to check for typesetting or conversion errors and the completeness and accuracy of the text, tables, and figures. Substantial changes in content, e.g., new results, corrected values, title, and authorship, are not allowed without the approval of the Editor.
After online publication, further changes can only be made in the form of an Erratum/Correction, which will be hyperlinked to the article.
Online first publication
To expedite publication and enhance dissemination efficiency, papers accepted by our journal will be simultaneously published as advance online articles on our official website and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) platform. They will also be released on CNKI’s mobile publishing platform and pushed to personalized service systems such as institutional and personal digital libraries. The copyright of advance online articles remains fully consistent with that of the printed edition. Some content may differ slightly from the final published version, and the printed edition shall prevail as the definitive version. When citing advance online articles from our journal, please include the article’s URL or DOI. The recommended citation format is: Author. Title [J]. Journal Name, DOI Number/Online Date. The journal will pursue legal action against any infringement of copyright.
Open access
All articles published by Nonferrous Metals since 2020 are open-access works, available to all readers free of charge immediately and permanently upon publication. Readers can enter the "Archive issue" on the home page (http://ysjs.bgrimm.cn/) from the official website of Nonferrous Metals, search the papers through the issue, find the required papers, click to enter the paper page, and then download the papers in PDF format. Readers may copy, distribute, and use these articles under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. This license allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial purposes only, and further does not permit distribution of the paper if it is changed or edited in any way. For more information, please visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
Contact information
Nonferrous Metals Editorial Office
Building 22, Zone 18 of ABP, No. 188, South 4th Ring Road West, Beijing, China
Code: 100160
Tel: 010-63299224/9991
Fax: 010-63299754
E-mail: ysjs@bgrimm.com