Nonferrous Metals (Mineral Processing Section) (also referred to as the Journal) follows the recognized publication ethics (COPE)，continues to strengthen industry self-discipline，promote the construction of academic integrity and improve 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，with the purpose of providing references for various role-players including the authors，academic groups，editors，research sponsors，and readers.
1.Rights and Responsibilities of Each Agent
Ⅰ. Author Responsibilities
(1)The authorship of the papers shall truthfully reflect the work and contribution of the signed authors. Whereas，the signed authors must：
1）Provide substantial contributions to the design concepts，experimental research，data collection，result analysis，etc. of the papers；
2）Prepare the papers or make major changes to important academic content；
3）Do a final check of the papers；
4）All signed authors are required to meet one of the above requirements and agree to take responsibility for all aspects of their research，especially with respect to integrity.
(2)Ensuring that the signatures and ranking of all the authors/institutions are correct and undisputed.
(3)Ensuring that the papers are free of state secrets like politics，military，science and technology or any sensitive issues that are not suitable for publication；and not involve languages or experiments of endangering animals and humans as well as any violation of human moral ethics.
(4)The papers are the original work. The results and data are true and reliable，with no fabrication，falsification，plagiarism and duplicate submission. The work or words of others used in the papers shall be objectively evaluated and appropriately cited.
(5)The authors are obliged to disclose the parties involved in conflicts of interest that could affect the objective evaluation of the papers. All sources of financial support for the project shall be disclosed.
(6)When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her published paper，especially the non-subjective and intentional errors，it is the author’s obligation to promptly notify the Editorial Department and cooperate with them to either withdraw the paper or to publish an appropriate“Correction Notice”.
(7)The author shall provide a complete Copyright Transfer Agreement of the paper to the Editorial Department.
Ⅱ. Reviewer Responsibilities
(1)Any invited reviewer who feels unqualified to review the research reported in the paper or knows that its timely review will be impossible shall immediately notify the Editorial Department so that alternative reviewers can be contacted.
(2)Adhering to the principles of objectivity，impartiality and prudence，reviewers evaluate academically on the reviewed papers，and do not make personal evaluations or personal attacks. Reviewers shall not be affected by the race，gender，religion，belief，status and authority of the authors，and make objective comments with sufficient arguments and facts.
(3)Disclose all existing conflicts of interest (if any) when replying to review invitation and submitting review opinions. The reviewers shall refuse a review invitation in case it is impossible for them to provide unbiased review opinions. The main potential conflicts of interest for the reviewers are as follows：the reviewers have recently collaborated in research with the authors，the reviewers and the authors work in the same institution，direct competition exists between the reviewers and the authors，personal conflicts or close personal relationships or intimate association take place between the reviewers and the authors，or the reviewers are involved in economic interests related to the papers.
(4)Guarantee the confidentiality of the papers，author information and relevant contents. Reviewers are not allowed to use or share the content of the reviewed papers for purposes unrelated to the review process.
(5)Reviewers should put forward suggestions on the rejection，revision and retrial of the papers in time，so as to help the authors accurately understand their research work and help the Editorial Department to make a correct judgment on the quality of the papers.
(6)Shall not entrust the paper review to others without prior permission of the Editorial Department.
(7)Reviewers should immediately inform the Editorial Department that if there is academic misconduct during the review process such as duplicate submission，plagiarism，falsification and fabrication.
Ⅲ. Editor Responsibilities
(1)Evaluate each paper fairly，impartially and timely. The decision to accept or reject the papers should be made based on the content of the paper (scientificity，innovation，readability，etc.)，as well as whether match the scope of the Journal.
(2)Shall not select reviewers who have conflicts of interest with the authors to review the papers，and should not involve in the processing of the papers in which they have conflicts of interest.
(3)Guarantee the confidentiality of the unpublished papers and the information of reviewers.
(4)Shall not interfere in the peer review process，and ensure that reviewers give independent review suggestions.
(5)Try to help authors improve the academic quality and language expression，standardize styles and formats，and enhance reference value.
2. Academic Misconduct
Academic misconduct includes but is not necessarily limited to Plagiarism，Fabrication，Falsification，Inappropriate Authorization，Duplicate Submission，Redundant Publication，and Undeclared Conflict of Interest，which is based on the latest standard Academic Publishing Specification–Definition of Academic Misconduct for Journals(CY/T174-2019). The Journal has always upheld strict academic ethics standards and firmly eliminated all academic misconduct.
(1)All submitted papers will be screened by using AMLC system powered by CNKI to prevent the publication of the misconduct papers.
(2)In case of any academic misconduct throughout paper publication，the Editorial Department will spare no efforts to assist relevant authorities with investigation. Punitive measures such as withdrawing papers and informing the authors institutions will be taken for the misconduct with sufficient evidence.
3. Complaints Mechanisms
The authors are allowed to make complaints in case they have obtained sufficient information or evidence (such as providing other facts，corrections，or additional materials，or filing complaints against the conflicts of interest or unfair peer review). The Editorial Department will deal with the complaints according to the relevant information and evidence provided by the authors.
4. Correction Notice
In case of any errors found in previously published papers，especially those that could affect the interpretation of certain data or content (excluding major errors in main views or conclusion)，no matter what reasons causing the errors (by authors or editors)，the papers will be updated to correct editions on the website and database platform of the Journal.
5. Withdrawal Notice
In case of any papers published involving legal restrictions such as legal infringements and slander or proved academic misconduct，a withdrawal notice will be timely in the following manner：
(1)Once academic misconduct or legal restrictions are found in the papers，a withdrawal notice of the paper will be timely published in text of the latest issue of the Journal and listed in the contents of the latest issue.
(2)A notice of withdrawal consists of the original text clearly quoted and withdrawal reasons. Detailed evidence will be made public in the online edition of the Journal.
(3)The papers will be timely withdrawn from the website and database platform of the Journal.
(4)“Withdrawal Notice”will be used as the title.
6. Revenue Sources
The main revenue source of the Journal is supported by the sponsor of BGRIMM Technology Group，with a small portion of revenue including Article Processing Charge，subscription fees，and advertising fees.
The Article Processing Charge (APC) is based on the spirit of the document No. 039 issued by China Association for Science and Technology (1998)，which needs to be paid by the authors or by their research funder or institution. The charge is RMB 1000 per color printed page. The upper limit of charge is RMB 3，000 per article. If the paper does not have project funding support and the authors have difficulty in paying the APC，the charge can be reduced or exempted after confirmation by the Editorial Department.
The Journal has an advertising business license (No.0425). Based on the aims and scope of the Journal and in accordance with the national "Advertising Law"，the sponsor of BGRIMM Technology Group will review the content of advertising and decide whether to accept it. The accepted advertisement will be published in the print version of the Journal and on the official website (http：//ysxk.bgrimm.cn/). Advertisements should not be related in any way to editorial decision making and shall be kept separate from the published content.