A physical and chemical method is provided for de-mixing (e.g. extracting, separating, purifying and/or enriching) the metal constituents of an alloy or mixed material into different droplet or solid particle products that are highly enriched in the respective phases of the metal. The method involves for instance but is not limited to, shearing, separating and segregating metallic droplets and particles in a carrier fluid to form other droplets or particles that are each separately highly enriched in one of some, if not of all, of the constituent phases of the alloy or mixed material.