problems in heap leaching of copper ore

Ore agglomeration behavior and its key controlling factors in heap …

In 1970s, to ameliorate the undesirable leaching condition and obtain better extraction efficiency, the agglomeration and its processing controls were firstly mentioned in Nevada of the United States (Johnson and Roberto, 1997; Potter, 1981).As Fig. 2 shows, the basic operating procedure of agglomerated heap could be described that: 1) the …

Optimal design and planning of heap leaching process.

The design and planning of heap leaching systems is a coupled problem. Padilla et al. ... This section illustrates the application of the model for the copper heap leaching process in systems of one, two and three heaps to analyze the effects of variables such as copper price, heap size, ore grade, acid price and variable cost on the process ...

The bioleaching of sulphide minerals with emphasis on copper …

The most successful copper heap leaching operations have been those processing copper oxides and secondary copper sulphides (Table 1).Chalcocite (Cu 2 S) is the main copper sulphide mineral mined at bioleaching operations. Some of the chalcocite heap operations began as oxide (chemical) leach operations and were …

Review of gold leaching in thiosulfate-based solutions

TERARAKELYAN et al [28] from Soviet Union reported that the presence of copper ions (Cu2+) can accelerate the dissolution of gold in thiosulfate solutions [28]. In 1994, Newmont Gold Corporation published a patent on the use of copperâˆ'ammoniaâˆ'thiosulfate solution for heap leaching of pre-robbing …

Copper Leaching Method

Extraction of copper from suitable ore by leaching methods is generally assumed to cost less than the combined expense of concentration, smelting, and refining, and experimental data tend to confirm this opinion. At the Butte-Duluth plant, which is handling in excess of 100 tons of oxidized ore daily, the copper is said to cost $0.085 …

Copper heap leach development – not as easy as it looks

Leachable copper is the true head grade for heap leaching, and the orebody should be modelled accordingly. Select the appropriate leachable copper assay procedure. Better to start correctly than ...

Bioleaching and Biomining | SpringerLink

Dump leaching was popularly used for the extraction of copper sulfide ores (Brierley 2008). 13.4.3 Heap Leaching. Heap bioleaching is a speedily rising method for the extraction of base metals from sulfide minerals. Bioheaps are a big amount of low-grade ores and effluents from extraction strategies that include trace quantities of minerals.

Method of Heap Leaching of Copper from Off-Balance Ore …

After passing the heaps, the solutions are sent again for cementation. Copper recovery is about 80%. In Uzbekistan, the heap leaching method is planned to be applied to the Kalmakyr deposit dump's poor ores. Copper should be in ore in the form of easily leachable compounds (chalcosine or chalcanthite—natural copper cuprous or …

Minerals | Special Issue : Heap Leaching: The State-of-the …

Special Issue Information. Dear Colleagues, Economically-significant quantities of gold, silver, copper, and uranium are currently extracted using heap leaching technology, and the technology is being explored also for nickel, zinc, PGMs, rare earths, as well as electronic circuit boards and nitrate minerals. Design of heap leach operations, …

Heap Leaching Technology-Current State, Innovations, and …

Heap leaching is a well-established extractive metallurgical technology enabling the economical processing of various kinds of low-grade ores, which could not otherwise be exploited. However ...

Leaching of chalcopyrite ore agglomerated with high …

One of the most important unresolved problems in the development of a heap leach process for copper sulfide ores is the inhibited leaching of chalcopyrite at ambient temperature. Numerous studies have reported the formation of a layer on the surface of chalcopyrite during the dissolution process; however, the nature of this …

Heap Leaching

Heap leaching of copper ores is widely practiced, particularly in North and South America, for the leaching of acid-soluble oxide minerals and secondary sulfides, such as …

In situ leaching of copper: Challenges and future prospects

1. Introduction. In situ leaching (ISL) is the circulation of a fluid through an ore deposit to dissolve a target metal or mineral, with subsequent return of the liquor to the surface for processing. In some cases, lixiviant is applied to formations using a system of injection and recovery wells (see Fig. 1 ).

Heap Bioleaching of Copper-Nickel Ores in the Arctic

The heap leaching experiments have proved the bacterial leaching to give good results on the ore samples passed through magnetic separation, having shown high content of the nickel and copper in ...

Recovery prediction of copper oxide ore column leaching …

Recently, analytical models have been used for planning, optimization, design and control of the heap leaching process and a mathematical model for heap leaching has been presented that was useful for designing and scaling up the processes [11]. MELLADO et al [7,12] also used an analytical model to optimize the flow rates on copper heap …

Producing Copper Nature's Way: Bioleaching

Three of the processes introduced above have made great strides in solving these problems for the extraction of copper from chalcopyrite: The GEOCOAT™ Process - A heap leaching process that is capable of bioleaching copper concentrates. It does this by coating the concentrate slurry onto a support rock, or substrate material, and stacking …

Bioleaching: Introduction, Methods, Application, Copper, Microorganisms

Generally heap leaching process is employed in copper leaching process but sometimes a combination of heap leaching and in situ leaching processes are used. The solution (Sulphate/Fe 3 solution) is sprinkled over the heap which percolates through the ore and collects at the bottom pit. The solution collecting in the bottom pit will include ...

Heap Leaching of Gold and Silver Ores

Heap leaching is one of several alternative process methods for treating precious-metal ores and is selected primarily to take advantage of its low capital cost relative to other methods. Heap leaching had already become a fairly sophisticated practice at least 500 years ago. Georgius Agricola, in his book De Re Metallica …

Copper Mineral Leaching Mathematical Models—A …

Leaching processes can be defined as the selective removal and/or extraction of metallic values from a mineral, causing a suitable solvent of the leaching agent to percolate into and through a mass of heap or mineral containing the metallic values [1]. Leaching is of great importance in the field of metallurgy since it is frequently used in the ...

Metals | Free Full-Text | Leaching of Oxide Copper Ores by …

In this study, weak acid in the curing and leaching stages of copper ore was incorporated, and we analyzed its effect on the dissolution of copper and final impurities. The weak acid corresponds to a wastewater effluent from sulfuric acid plants produced in the gas treatment of copper smelting processes. This effluent is basically water with high acidity (pH-value …

How copper dump leaching works

The difference between heap and dump leaching is mostly related to scale, and is driven by the copper content of the ore (Petersen, 2016, Marsden, 2008). Ores with relatively high copper grades are leached in heaps: the ore is crushed, agglomerated, stacked in lifts generally less than 10 m high, and irrigated for periods of less than 18 …

Study of Factors Affecting the Copper Ore Leaching Process …

The composition of copper ore samples was analyzed with the use of fluorescence and chemical methods. Table 1 shows the content of the main valuable component—copper—as well as metals with the highest content that affect the leaching process. Table 1. Amount of copper and other metals in copper ore samples (%).

Crushed ore agglomeration and its control for heap leach …

Abstract. Based on the extensive experience of heap leaching operations, crushed ore agglomeration can be successfully considered and utilized as a pretreatment step for the heap leaching of ores containing significant amounts of fines and clay minerals. The drum agglomeration is considered as a pretreatment step for the heap …

(PDF) Heap Leaching: Practice and Fundamentals

Oxidized copper ore from the Tonglushan Copper-iron Mine, low in copper grade and abundant in mud and alkali gangue, is difficult to concentrate. Apart …

Ammonia Leaching: A New Approach of Copper Industry in …

After completion of ammonia leaching, problems associated with heap washing, neutralization and long-term monitoring to prevent acid runoff are minimized. Moreover, the residual ammonia in the soil can act as fertilizer for growing plants. ... Copper leaching from ore using ammonia should be followed by selective extraction of …