Disclosed is method of leaching at least one desired element from feed material containing feed material fines, which includes combining such a feed material with a pulping solution comprising a liquid and a solution-hydrated or a solution-soluble polymer to form a treated slurry, with the polymer configured to predominantly capture at least part of the feed material fines prior to their settling out of the liquid slurry matrix, and with the polymer being added to the feed material in a predetermined ratio of polymer to feed material. The treated slurry is deposited in a deposition cell for leaching and further treatment. Also disclosed is a composition of a treated slurry, and treating any one or more of the feed material, the treated slurry or the deposited treated slurry with sulphide consuming bacteria.

A method of controlling the acid balance in a high chloride heap leach process tomaximise the copper dissolution in a cure step and to increase overall copper recovery which include an agglomeration stage in which acid and process solutions are combined with the ore prior to stacking to form a heap followed by a cure phase to leach a portion of the copper in the ore in the heap followed by an irrigated leach phase in which the remaining copper minerals are leached and copper is recovered from a pregnant leach solution by a solvent extraction step followed by an electrowinning step wherein the acid concentration in the pregnant leach solution which reports to the solvent extraction step is less than 10 g/L to allow effective copper recovery from the pregnant leach solution in the solvent extraction step.

A method for recovery of precious metals from copper anode slime may include leaching a leach liquor out of the copper anode slime by mixing the copper anode slime with a mixture of nitric acid and sulfuric acid, separating silver from the leach liquor by forming a silver chloride precipitate in the leach liquor by mixing a supersaturated sodium chloride solution with the leach liquor at room temperature and obtaining a first filtrate by filtering the silver chloride precipitate out of the leach liquor. Copper may be separated from the first filtrate by forming a copper hydroxide precipitate in the first filtrate by adjusting pH of the first filtrate at 9 and obtaining a second filtrate by filtering the copper hydroxide precipitate out of the first filtrate. Metallic selenium may be recovered from the second filtrate by reducing the metallic selenium via a chemical reduction utilizing L-ascorbic acid (LAA) as a reducing agent.

Systems and methods for basic leaching are provided. In various embodiments, a method is provided comprising leaching a slurry comprising a copper bearing material and an ammonia leach medium, adding copper powder to the slurry, separating the slurry into a pregnant leach solution and solids, and performing a solvent extraction on the pregnant leach solution to produce an loaded aqueous stream.

A method of leaching copper-containing ores includes leaching copper-containing ores or concentrates or tailings of the ores or concentrates with a leach liquor in the presence of an additive that enhances the dissolution of copper from copper minerals in the ores and concentrates by forming a complex between (a) sulfur, that has originated from copper minerals in the ores, and (b) the additive. A method of leaching copper-containing ores includes leaching copper-containing ores or concentrates or tailings of the ores or concentrates with a leach liquor includes leaching copper-containing ores or concentrates or tailings of the ores or concentrates with a leach liquor in the presence of a nitrogen-containing organic complexing additive that forms a complex between sulfur, that has originated from copper minerals in the ores, and the additive.

A collector composition and process to treat ores with a collector composition that comprises a nitrile group-containing compound of the formula (I)

##STR00001##

wherein R is a saturated or unsaturated, linear or branched, hydrocarbon group containing 8 to 26 carbon atoms,

##STR00002##

R is a saturated or unsaturated, linear or branched, hydrocarbon group containing 1 to 26 carbon atoms or a hydrogen atom or (-(D).sub.j-C.sub.nH.sub.2nCN) group or R-((A).sub.m-(B)).sub.x group, A is (OCH.sub.2CH.sub.2); (OCH(CH.sub.3)CH.sub.2) or (OCH(CH.sub.2CH.sub.3)CH.sub.2), B is (OC.sub.pH.sub.2p), D is (CH.sub.2CH.sub.2O); (CH(CH.sub.3)CH.sub.2O) or (CH(CH.sub.2CH.sub.3)CH.sub.2O), x is 0 or 1, R is hydrocarbon group containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms, Y is halide or methylsulfate, m, j are each independently an integer of 0-5, R is a saturated or unsaturated, linear or branched, hydrocarbon group containing 1 to 26 carbon atoms, and n and p are each independently an integer of 1 to 5.

A method of leaching chalcopyrite ores includes the steps of forming agglomerates of fragments of chalcopyrite ores and silver and leaching the agglomerates with suitable leach liquor.

A method of leaching copper-containing ores includes leaching copper-containing ores or concentrates or tailings of the ores or concentrates with a leach liquor in the presence of an additive that enhances the dissolution of copper from copper minerals in the ores and concentrates by forming a complex between (a) sulfur, that has originated from copper minerals in the ores, and (b) the additive. A method of leaching copper-containing ores includes leaching copper-containing ores or concentrates or tailings of the ores or concentrates with a leach liquor includes leaching copper-containing ores or concentrates or tailings of the ores or concentrates with a leach liquor in the presence of a nitrogen-containing organic complexing additive that forms a complex between sulfur, that has originated from copper minerals in the ores, and the additive.

A method of leaching copper-containing ores includes leaching copper-containing ores or concentrates or tailings of the ores or concentrates with a leach liquor in the presence of an additive that enhances the dissolution of copper from copper minerals in the ores and concentrates by forming a complex between (a) sulfur, that has originated from copper minerals in the ores, and (b) the additive. A method of leaching copper-containing ores includes leaching copper-containing ores or concentrates or tailings of the ores or concentrates with a leach liquor includes leaching copper-containing ores or concentrates or tailings of the ores or concentrates with a leach liquor in the presence of a nitrogen-containing organic complexing additive that forms a complex between sulfur, that has originated from copper minerals in the ores, and the additive.

A process to significantly improve the copper chemical leaching process for primary and secondary minerals, using calcium chloride including the agglomeration, curing, and leaching with a high content of chloride, iron and copper stages. The mineral is then washed with a low concentration of copper and a high concentration of acid, where the impregnated copper is extracted from the pit and wherein a recirculated solution is used in the agglomeration stage.