Hydrometallurgy: Leaching in Heap, Vat, CIL, CIP, Merrill–Crowe, SX Solvent Extraction

Hydrometallurgy: Leaching in Heap, Vat, CIL, CIP, Merrill–Crowe, SX Solvent Extraction

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Heap Leaching of copper Sulfur and copper oxide (1 reply)

M
mashafaei
4 years ago
mashafaei 4 years ago

We have a copper mine, which combines copper sulfur and copper oxide, that copper oxide extracted   using "HEAP LEACH" process . It is now the copper sulfur was remained in the "HEAP LEACH" with a concentration about 1-5%.

My questions are:

  Is it possible to extract the sulfur through leaching bacteria?

How much does it cost to buy a bacterium?

How much does it cost to extract copper per kilogram via " HEAP "?

How long does it take to extract the copper for million tons by " HEAP "? (we have more than five million tons of soil combination with copper sulfur)

Best Regards,

Mohammad Ali Shafaei

 

T
Todd H
4 years ago
Todd H 4 years ago
Like

If you google bioheap leaching for copper you will find a lot of articles on the subject.  Here is one link

https://www.911metallurgist.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Thermophilic-Bioheap-Leaching-of-Chalcopyrite-Concentrates.pdf

Bioheap leaching for copper depends on the mineralogy.  Chalcopyrite requires higher temperatures and is harder to do in a heap.  Secondary sulfides work well but there is a lot of engineering required to get it right.  The bacteria are cheap but you need to grow them and build an inoculum. You must also maintain them with nutrients and the heap must be aerated.

The leach time is dependent on the mineralogy.  Secondary sulfide leaching can take anywhere from 90 days to a year.

Regards

 

Todd Harvey - Global Resource Engineering http://www.global-resource-eng.com


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