The invention relates to a method of recycling lithium iron phosphate batteries with the aim of enabling the isolated recovery of elements from black mass. Black mass comprising at least cathodic and anodic components is immersed in a pH 13-14 solution to obtain a first leachate and first solid residue. The first leachate is immersed in a 4-6M acid solution to obtain a second leachate. The second leachate is passed through a first ion-exchange column where fluoride ions are retained and a second ion-exchange column where copper ions are to obtain a second eluate. The pH of the second eluate is adjusted to about 2.5-5 and a quantity of phosphoric acid that is sufficient to achieve an equivalent stoichiometric ratio of ferric iron and phosphate anions is added to obtain a first solution and an iron (III) phosphate precipitate. The first solution is combined with the first leachate to obtain a second solution. The pH of the second solution is adjusted to about 6.5 to a residual precipitate and a lithium solution.

A method of controlling iron in a hydrometallurgical process is disclosed. The method may comprise the steps of: leaching (14, 114) a feed slurry (2, 102); forming a pregnant leach solution (12a, 12b; 112a, 112b); removing a first leach residue (18, 118) from the pregnant leach solution (12a, 12b); and sending a portion (12b, 112b) of the pregnant leach solution (12a, 12b) and/or raffinate (22, 122) produced therefrom, to an iron removal process (34, 134). According to some preferred embodiments, the iron removal process (34, 134) may comprise the steps of: sequentially processing the pregnant leach solution (12a, 12b) and/or raffinate (22, 122) produced therefrom in a first reactor (R.sub.1) a second reactor (R.sub.2), and a third reactor (R.sub.3); maintaining a pH level of the first reactor (R.sub.1) above 4, by virtue of the addition of a first base; maintaining a pH level of the second (R.sub.2) and/or third (R.sub.3) reactors above 8.5, by virtue of a second base; and forming solids (46) comprising magnetite (68). The method may further comprise the steps of performing a solid liquid separation step (36) after the iron removal process (34, 134); and performing a magnetic separation step (64) to remove magnetite (68) from said solids comprising magnetite (68), without limitation. A system for performing the method is also disclosed.

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.

A hydrometallurgical process for the removal of arsenic and antimony from a so-called dirty copper concentrate (101) is described. The process comprises the following steps: Step 1: repulping (100) the dirty copper concentrate with an alkaline lixiviant (102, 103), and subjecting the dirty copper concentrate to an alkaline leaching process (the Leach) in a Leach reactor (110). The arsenic and antimony are dissolved in the Leach to produce a clean copper concentrate (138) and leach discharge liquor (132). Step 2: subjecting the Leach discharge liquor (132) to a lime treatment step (151) in order to regenerate (150) the alkaline lixiviant as well as precipitate an impurity rich precipitate (161) containing arsenic and antimony. Then the impurity rich precipitate (161) is separated (160) from the regenerated alkaline lixiviant (162). The impurity rich precipitate is washed and disposed of in an environmentally safe condition. Step 3: recycling the regenerated alkaline lixiviant (162) to the Leach in Step 1, and so employing the recycled alkaline lixiviant (102) in the further extraction of arsenic and antimony from incoming dirty copper concentrate (101).

A process for extraction of copper from an arsenical copper sulfide concentrate is provided. The process includes atmospheric oxidative leaching of a feed slurry including the arsenical copper sulfide concentrate and an acidic iron sulfate-containing leach solution, in the presence of oxygen, to produce a leach slurry including copper and arsenic dissolved into the leach solution. After dissolving the copper and arsenic, and before precipitating the arsenic dissolved during the oxidative leaching, pre-precipitation solids are recovered from the leach slurry to produce the pre-precipitation solids and a resulting pregnant leach solution including the copper and arsenic. Scorodite-containing seed is introduced to the pregnant leach solution including the copper and arsenic to induce precipitation of the arsenic dissolved during the oxidative leaching, as scorodite. Solids are recovered from the pregnant leach solution to produce the solids, including the scorodite, and an arsenic-reduced pregnant leach solution including the copper. The arsenic-reduced pregnant leach solution including the copper is subjected to solvent extraction for recovering copper and thereby producing a raffinate including sulfuric acid and iron sulfate, and at least a portion of the raffinate including the sulfuric acid and iron sulfate is recycled to the oxidative leaching.

Any metal having a low ?-ray emission, the metal being any one of tin, silver, copper, zinc, or indium, wherein an emission of an ?-ray after heating the metal at 100? C. in an atmosphere for six hours is 0.002 cph/cm.sup.2 or less. Any metal of tin, silver, copper, zinc and indium each including lead as an impurity is dissolved to prepare a hydrosulfate aqueous solution of the metal and lead sulfate is precipitated and removed in the solution. The lead sulfate is precipitated in the hydrosulfate aqueous solution by adding a lead nitrate aqueous solution including lead having an ?-ray emission of 10 cph/cm.sup.2 or less to the hydrosulfate aqueous solution, from which the lead sulfate has been removed, and, at the same time, the solution is circulated while removing the lead sulfate to electrowinning the metal using the hydrosulfate aqueous solution as an electrolytic solution.

Provided is a method for preparing metal powder; a metal nitrate or metal sulfate is combined with ammonia water to produce an ammonia-containing complex metal salt solution; the said solution is then quantitatively jet-mixed with the solution containing the hydroxylamine compounds, and reacted under intense stirring; a dispersant solution is added during the reaction process, and after the reaction is complete, the solution is separated by centrifugation to yield the metal power. The method of the present invention can effectively control the reaction rate during the production process, and well control the nucleation rate and dispersity, with the produced metal powder having very good crystallinity, sphericity, tap property and dispersity.

The present invention provides a method of recovering copper and zinc from an aqueous sulfate and chloride containing solution. In the first process step zinc and copper are simultaneous extracting with an extraction solution comprising a liquid chelating cation exchanger and a liquid anion exchanger. The extraction is followed by consecutive stripping stages. First the anionic species are washed from the organic phase with one or more aqueous solutions and finally the copper is stripped with an aqueous acidic solution.

A method for recycling copper indium gallium selenium materials comprises the steps of leaching by using sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide, reduction of selenium by using sulfur dioxide, separation of copper by using hydrolysis, alkali separation of indium and gallium, replacement of indium, hydrolysis of gallium, and the like. Leaching is carried out by using sulfuric acid in cooperation with hydrogen peroxide, so that the leaching rate is greatly improved, and acid gas pollution is reduced; PH differential copper is separated by using metal ion hydrolysis, so that costs are low; and in addition, alkali separation of gallium is carried out, separation between indium and gallium can be implemented by merely adjusting the PH of a solution, the separation effect is good, the purities of obtained indium and gallium products are high.

The invention relates to a method and apparatus for recovering metals from metalliferous starting materials comprising steps of i) leaching the metalliferous starting material in chloride-based leaching liquor, ii) withdrawing from the leaching step i) aqueous chloride solution with dissolved metals, iii) recovering metal value from the aqueous chloride solution in a metal recovery process step, iv) neutralizing hydrogen chloride content of the aqueous chloride solution in the metal recovery process step with adding hydrolyzed ammonia to the process solution so as to form ammonium chloride, v) withdrawing ammonium chloride containing process solution to an ammonium regeneration step where calcium-containing reagent is added to generate calcium chloride and ammonia gas and recycling ammonia back to the metal recovery process step iii), vi) regenerating the CaCl.sub.2-solution with H.sub.2SO.sub.4 so as to provide a aqueous HCl solution for recycling to the leaching step i).