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 relates to an improved apparatus for economically extracting metal from a metal-bearing material. In particular, the present invention relates to an improved apparatus for extracting metal, including inter alia base metal (i.e. copper) and gold, from a metal-bearing ore, concentrate or other metal-bearing material. The present invention further extends to a process for the extraction of such metal which is carried out in accordance with the aforementioned apparatus. According to a first aspect thereof, the present invention provides an apparatus for extracting metal from a metal-bearing material, said apparatus, including a feed receptacle for receiving a metal-bearing feed stream; a reaction vessel; at least one pump means for delivering the metal-bearing feed stream to the reaction vessel; a means for introducing leaching agents, in the form of a leaching agent solution, to the reaction vessel; a means of agitation by circulating the metal-bearing feed stream and leaching agent solution in the reaction vessel so as to allow for a combination of agitation (tank) leaching and vat leaching to take place; a means for achieving liquid/solid separation; and a means for extracting a metal containing product; wherein said apparatus is re-locatable and transportable in order to allow the apparatus to be assembled easily on site without being geographically bound to one specific site.

A method of recovering a metal from a low-grade ore which is subjected to cyanide leaching to produce a PLS which contains a metal cyanide which is removed from the PLS by ultrafiltration and nano-filtration, and then acidified and sulphidised to produce a metal sulphide from which the metal is extracted, and hydrogen cyanide which is recycled to the cyanide leaching step.

A method and system for converting copper cyanide to copper oxide is provided. The method includes contacting a copper cyanide solution with an acidic solution in a precipitation tank under reaction conditions sufficient to produce a copper cyanide slurry, removing the copper cyanide slurry from the precipitation tank, separating solid copper cyanide from the copper cyanide slurry in a first separation device, removing the solid copper cyanide from the first separation device, contacting the solid copper cyanide with a sodium hydroxide solution in a production tank under reaction conditions sufficient to produce a copper oxide slurry, removing the copper oxide slurry from the production tank, separating solid copper oxide from the copper oxide slurry in a second separation device, and removing from the second separation device any residual sodium hydroxide not reacted during the process of contacting the solid copper cyanide with the sodium hydroxide solution in the production tank.

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).

Disclosed is a system for recovering metal from metal-containing waste liquid. The system includes a waste liquid storage unit, an extraction unit, and an electrolysis unit. The waste liquid storage unit is configured to store a metal-containing waste liquid. The extraction unit is in fluid connection with the waste liquid storage unit and includes an extraction device and a back-extraction device. The extraction device is configured to collect a target metal ion present in the metal-containing waste liquid, and the back-extraction device is configured to back-extract the target metal ion into a back-extracting liquid to form a metal compound. The electrolysis unit is in fluid connection with the waste liquid storage unit and the extraction unit, configured to reduce the target metal ion to a solid metal, or to dissociate the metal compound and deposit a solid metal.

The present invention discloses polythiol compositions containing monothiotricyclodecenes, dithiotricyclodecanes, and intermolecular sulfide compounds, as well as mining chemical collector compositions containing such polythiol compositions. Flotation processes for recovering metals, such as copper and molybdenum, from ores using the mining chemical collector compositions also are disclosed.

The present invention is directed to a method for selectively recovering a mineral from an ore applying a promoter being a substituted ethylene diamine. Further, the present invention is directed to the use of said substituted polymeric alkylenediamine to separate a target mineral from an ore.

The present disclosure relates to the use of carbonaceous matter and a reagent comprising a thiocarbonyl functional group, for example, in a method for extracting a base metal such as copper from a material comprising the base metal. Such methods can comprise contacting the material under acidic conditions with the carbonaceous matter and the reagent comprising the thiocarbonyl functional group; and optionally recovering the base metal.

A process to recover nickel, cobalt and copper by co-processing copper-containing sulphide concentrate feed containing one or more of arsenic, antimony, and bismuth, and laterite ore feed containing nickel and cobalt by pressure oxidative leaching. The sulphide concentrate and oxygen are controlled to produce sulphuric acid to leach nickel, cobalt, copper and acid soluble impurities into a liquid phase of an acidic leach slurry, to precipitate iron compounds and a majority of the arsenic, antimony and bismuth as solids, and to produce heat to heat the incoming feeds to a temperature above 230 C. Reacted slurry is withdrawn, solids are separated, and the PLS solution contains the nickel, cobalt, copper and acid soluble impurities. A first solution purification stage on the PLS neutralizes free acid, precipitates one or more of iron, aluminum, chromium and silicon, and, separates as solids, the precipitated impurities and other solids from a first purified solution. Copper is separated from the first purified solution with a solvent extraction step to produce a raffinate solution reduced in copper and a copper loaded organic phase. The organic phase is stripped and copper is recovered with electrowinning. A second solution purification stage is conducted on the raffinate by one or both of neutralizing free acid and precipitating one or more of iron, aluminum, chromium and silicon, followed by separating as solids, the precipitated impurities and other solids from a second purified solution. Nickel and cobalt are recovered as mixed hydroxides or mixed sulphides from the second purified solution.