Pretreatment to Leaching for a Primary Copper Sulphide Ore in Chloride Media

Abstract

The dissolution of copper sulphide ores continues to be a challenge for the copper industry. Several media and leaching alternatives have been proposed to improve the dissolution of these minerals, especially for the leaching of chalcopyrite. Among the alternatives, pretreatment prior to leaching was proposed as an option that increases the dissolution of copper from sulphide ores. In this study, a mineral sample from a copper mining company was used. The copper grade of the sample was 0.79%, and its main contributor was chalcopyrite (84%). The effect of curing time (as pretreatment) in a chloride media on copper sulphide ore was evaluated at various temperatures: 25, 50, 70 and 90 °C. The pretreated sample and leaching residues were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and reflected light microscopy. Pretreatment products such as CuSO4, NaFe3(SO4)2(OH)6, and S0 were identified although with difficulty, due to the low presence of chalcopyrite in the initial sample (1.99%). Under the conditions of 15 kg/t of H2SO4, 25 kg/t of NaCl, and 15 days of curing time, a copper extraction of 93.1% was obtained at 90 °C with 50 g/L of Cl− and 0.2 M of H2SO4.

Leaching/Bioleaching and Recovery of Metals

“…Quezada et al [1] proposed the pretreatment of a mineral sample from a copper mining company (0.79% Cu, 1.99% chalcopyrite) in chloride media to improve the dissolution of copper from sulfide ores. Pretreatment products, such as CuSO 4 , NaFe 3 (SO 4 ) 2 (OH) 6 , and S 0 , were identified, and a copper extraction of 93.1% was obtained at 90 • C with 50 g/L of Cl − and 0.2 M of H 2 SO 4 after curing under optimum conditions (15 kg/t of H 2 SO 4 , 25 kg/t of NaCl, and 15 days).…”

The Extraction of Copper from Chalcopyrite Concentrate with Hydrogen Peroxide in Sulfuric Acid Solution

“…Specifically, the passivation layer covering the chalcopyrite mineral surface during leaching prevents further dissolution of this mineral. Consequently, knowing that this mineral is one of the most poorly soluble minerals, the main goal of most research is to identify appropriate conditions to achieve efficient copper extraction [13][14][15].…”