Department of mining, shahrood branch, islamic azad university, shahrood, iran. The commercial application of copper bioleaching, an environmentallyfriendly approach for lowgrade and secondary mineral resources recycling, has increased worldwide since the 2000s. These processes recover copper via hydrometallurgical leaching of the copper component of chalcopyrite concentrates, followed by. For more than 30 years, a significant number of processes have been developed to leach copper from chalcopyrite concentrates. Natural bioleaching has been taking place for almost as long as the history of the world, but it is only in the last few decades that we have realized that bioleaching is responsible for acid production in some mining wastes, and that this bacterial activity can. Bioleaching of uranium and copper has been widely commercialized. Like intec, they produce a high grade copper powder, which can be melted and cast. This is a low technology process and renders low productivities and recoveries. When it comes to gold extraction, cronimet mining processing has undertaken a significant amount of work. The use of solution stacking is accompanied by increased evaporation losses.
Application of bioleaching to copper mining in chile article pdf available in electronic journal of biotechnology 163. Dump leaching is leaching from existing runofmine leach dumps which. A brief note on the heap leaching technologies for the recovery of. Optimization of parameters affecting recovery of copper. Similar to in situ mining, heap leach mining differs in that it places ore on a liner, then adds the chemicals via drip systems to. We are planning for a 5000 tons holding capacity for the vat and feed grade is 1% copper. Biological leaching of copper mine residues by aspergillus niger c. Adsorption is a term used to describe the attraction of a mineral compound to the surface of another material.
Sustainable development for mining of mineral and fossil energy resources. Commercially applied leaching processes process outline, history and status developments and trends part b. Heap leaching is bat for suitable ores because it allows the economical processing of ore that would otherwise be uneconomic under con ditions that can technically achieve regulatory acceptable levels of environmental risk mitigation. This method of extraction is generally applied only to ores that are not adapted to. Pdf investigation into the heap leaching of copper ore from the. Optimization of parameters affecting recovery of copper from sarcheshmeh lowgrade sulfide ore using bioleaching. On the other hand, the dissolution of copper occurs most rapidly and extensively at the onset within an hour of the leaching process fig. The main copper ore leaching process is flotation technology in the industrial production. Reference to the files of publications devoted to the mining. Separation of special copper ores such as those containing molybdenite or with high zinc or lead content canada is also possible by flotation methods. Pdf heap leaching of malachiteatacamite ores with high silica gangue.
The cls leaching solution was action minings first product, but just as important is the technology attached to this leach solution. The most common types of ore, copper oxide and copper sulfide, undergo two different processes, hydrometallurgy and pyrometallurgy, respectively, due. Early application of bioleaching to copper mining centred in its recovery from dumps gentina and acevedo, 1985. I learned quite a bit about the mining process and its challenges from emersons alena johnson excellent mining engineering magazine article, improved flow measurement and control are key to efficiency. The commonest ore used in the extraction of copper is chalcopyrite cufes 2 also known as copper pyrites and other such sulfides. Copper carbonates and oxides, are present mainly in the oxidation zone oxide hats above the sulphide deposits. Treatment of copperrich gold ore by cyanide leaching. Flowsheet considerations for copper cobalt projects.
In 1968 the tonnage of highgrade oxide ores was decreasing and vat leaching was on the decline. Copper processing is a complicated process that begins with mining of the ore less than 1% copper and ends with sheets of 99. This trickles slowly down through the ore, over a period of months, dissolving copper to form a weak solution of copper sulphate. The concentration of ore is required and it is done by the froth flotation method. Automating and optimizing copper heap leaching processes. The first process, vat leaching of highgrade copper oxide ore followed by ew of copper from the leach solution, produced low quality copper cathode at relatively high cost. The mineralogy of ores in the area is typically associated with high gangue acid consumption during the leaching process.
Extraction of copper mining, concentration, smelting. The bacteria feed on nutrients in the minerals, causing the metal to separate from its ore. The method of recovery of gold from the process slurry is by carbon adsorption. Heap leaching is an industrial mining process used to extract precious metals, copper, uranium, and other compounds from ore using a series of chemical reactions that absorb specific minerals and reseparate them after their division from other earth materials. In its pure form or as an alloy, copper cu is one of the most important metals in society. Not only does this method provide more flexibility. Hi we are planning a vat leaching for hms rejects of copper oxide ore. As most of these concentrates also contain significant levels of gold and silver, recovery of these precious metals cannot be overlooked.
Hydrometallurgical considerations in processing arsenic. Dilute acidic solutions are introduced to the copperbearing ores, causing dissolution of soluble copper minerals table 1 remaining in the leached cap and underlying enrichment blanket. Flow diagrams of heap leaching processes of gold, copper, and uranium. Bioleaching process, also known as microbial leaching or biohydrometallurgy, refers to the solubilisation of metals from insoluble ores by using certain. But large scale leaching process may cause environmental problems when dump is not managed properly. Heap leaching is an industrial mining method to dig out precious metals and copper compounds from ore. In any successful hydrometallurgical process treating copperarsenic concentrates, key results would include high copper extraction during leaching and arsenic deportment to a stable residue. In this process, holes are drilled into the ore deposit by explosive or hydraulic fracturing methods. Copper recovered from leaching low grade copper ores was considered a bonus and little effort had been made to fully understand the leaching process or to maximize copper recovery. All of the materials used in heap leaching process and industry specifications of materials are. Increasing the concentration of cyanide improves the leaching of copper with the highest dissolution of 78. Bioleaching, or microbial ore leaching, is a process used to extract metals from their ores using bacterial microorganisms. Chapter 6 copper production technology the last boomin technological innovation for the copper industry occurred in the first two decades of this century, whenopen pit mining, flo tation concentration,and the reverberatory smelter were adapted to porphyry copper ores.
Sulphide copper minerals chalcocite, covellite and chalcopyrite, which are mostly. Finally, a number of conclusions are presented that will be useful to keep in mind when. Copper processing, the extraction of copper from its ores and the preparation of copper metal or chemical compounds for use in various products. Minerals free fulltext copper bioleaching in china.
Pdf the democratic republic of congo copper oxide ore. Large phase ratio extraction and enrichment of rare earth ions by a novel. Estimates indicate that by 1990 approximately 30 percent of the copper produced in this country will be recovered by some type of leaching process. Copper ores from the diseleopen pit minewere classi. Flotation of nonsulfide copper minerals is rare because these ores are mostly subjected to hydrometallurgical copper recovery, for example, heap leaching. Thereafter, it remarkably slows down as the leaching process progresses.
According to different collectors, copper separation process can be divided into the following types. This flowchart made of machinery icons explains or expresses in simple but clear terms the step of the copper mining and copper extraction process starting from either openpit or underground mining and using a different relevant treatment. The most common types of ore, copper oxide and copper sulfide, undergo two different processes, hydrometallurgy and pyrometallurgy, respectively, due to the different. Dilute acidic solutions are introduced to the copper bearing ores, causing dissolution of soluble copper minerals table 1 remaining in the leached cap and underlying enrichment blanket.
Would there be any channeling effect in the vat as we are p. Pdf application of bioleaching to copper mining in chile. The percentage of copper in the actual ore is too low for direct extraction of copper to be viable. Heap leaching is carried out in the extraction of copper, nickel, uranium and precious metals. Generally, copper ore has a series of characteristics, including high oxidation rate, high binding rate, large mud content, fine and asymmetry dissemination size, etc.
Mineral beneficiation by heap leaching technique in mining. The main advantages of ammonia leaching of copper and zinccontaining sources are as follows. Since cls is different than cyanide or any other leach solution now in use, this new technology must, in some manner, be. This process is known as sxew solvent extractionelectrowinning. Bioleaching of copper is of major importance in metals production and this chap. Heap leaching mining techniques, metals mining, copper. The leaching process used by the copper mining industry is known as solution. Microsoft word big guns in copper conc leaching race.
Heap leaching is a tried and tested mining technique enabling the processing of. Heap leaching mining techniques, metals mining, copper, heap leaching is an industrial mining method to dig out precious metals and copper compounds from ore process of heap leaching the mined ore is crushed into tiny chunks and heaped on an impermeable plastic andor clay lined leach pad where it may be irrigated with a leach solution to melt. The leach process involves a chemical reaction between metallic gold and the thiosulphate anion, with oxygen as the oxidant, and ammonium and copper ions. This is especially used to extract copper and uranium. Outokumpu have joined the lineup with a chloride leaching process. The low grade ores contain significant amount of nickel, lead, and zinc ores which could be processed by microbial leaching. First, the ore is treated with dilute sulphuric acid. In fact, our team has spearheaded the development of a unique vat leaching process, aimed at improving upon the conventional heap and tank leaching processes. The flowsheet route for copper is fairly well established while the processing options for cobalt vary considerably depending on the final product metal or salt the operator wishes to make. Biological leaching of copper mine residues by aspergillus. Southern african institute of mining and metallurgy 183 leaching of copper sulphides. Copper dump leaching and management practices that.
Alena opens describing the heap leaching process for copper. Copper leaching from chalcopyrite concentrates springerlink. Insitu leaching is also known as insitu recovery, or solution mining. Application of bioleaching to copper mining in chile. Nevertheless, dump bioleaching is economical, mainly because it recovers copper. Az of copper ore leaching alta metallurgical services. The areas in which copper leaching is practiced are similar in general characteristics. The pure metal has a facecentred cubic crystal structure, and.
358 348 416 1155 454 732 120 638 1330 44 723 1356 1429 452 153 435 1203 529 391 705 1322 645 959 1233 392 1000 357 1286 359 230 519 1366 697 570 15 643 20 550 670 386 1274 1397 1062 326