Abstract
Rhenium and some trace elements are different from other metals. Their importance comes from the fact that they are used in high-temperature alloys, optoelectronic devices, catalytic systems, and energy technologies. Because they are rare in nature and are often found in small amounts in copper, molybdenum, zinc, and aluminum ores, it is hard to extract them. This depends on how the metallurgical industry works and how much money it makes. This, along with the fact that the quality of the ore is getting worse, has brought to light a wider range of raw materials, such as off-gases, metallurgical dust, coal waste, and spent catalysts. Hydrometallurgical methods are the main ways to extract minerals. They include different combinations of leaching, ion exchange, solvent extraction, and sorption. Polymeric materials, particularly interpolymer hydrogel systems made of polymethacrylic acid and poly-4-vinylpyridine, have become useful for binding perrhenates and trivalent lanthanide ions in the last few years. This is because the interactions between the polymers are controlled and work together in the polymer matrix. These improvements make it possible to extract a wider range of raw materials and open up new ways to selectively extract metals at very low concentrations. This review summarizes information about the geological and anthropogenic resource base, the most common ways to get rhenium and trace elements, and the latest technological advances in processing these materials.