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and bismuth as solids, and to produce heat to heat the incoming feeds to a temperature above 230 C. Reacted slurry is withdrawn, solids are separated, and the PLS solution contains the nickel, cobalt, copper and acid soluble impurities.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.

The present disclosure is directed to a process that leaches a precious metal from a precious metal-containing material comprising carbonaceous matter in the presence of a blanking agent comprising one or more of a methylphenol and phenolate salt thereof to form a pregnant leach solution comprising the precious metal followed by precious metal recovery from the pregnant leach solution.

The present disclosure is directed to a process that leaches a precious metal from a precious metal-containing material comprising carbonaceous matter in the presence of a blanking agent comprising one or more of a methylphenol and phenolate salt thereof to form a pregnant leach solution comprising the precious metal followed by precious metal recovery from the pregnant leach solution.

A method for precious metal extraction comprises contacting a precious metal-containing ore with an improved cyanide extraction agent under conditions suitable for the formation of a coated precious metal-containing ore where the extraction agent comprises (i) a cement and (ii) a cement retarder; and contacting the coated precious metal-containing ore with a cyanide solution to form soluble precious metal complexes. A composition for gold extraction comprising: (i) a cement (ii) a cement retarder and (iii) an inorganic cyanide salt.

A method for precious metal extraction comprises contacting a precious metal-containing ore with an improved cyanide extraction agent under conditions suitable for the formation of a coated precious metal-containing ore where the extraction agent comprises (i) a cement and (ii) a cement retarder; and contacting the coated precious metal-containing ore with a cyanide solution to form soluble precious metal complexes. A composition for gold extraction comprising: (i) a cement (ii) a cement retarder and (iii) an inorganic cyanide salt.

An electronic waste (E-waste) recycling process and composite article or material using the E-waste. E-waste, for example including printed circuit boards (PCBs) and/or electronic components (ECs) such as integrated circuit chips, is size reduced, processed with one or more chemicals to remove base metals, precious metals, and chemicals of concern, and dried to provide a E-waste powder. The E-waste powder, may be used to form an E-waste composite article or material.

The present disclosure relates to a process, a system and a use for removing micropollutants (1) in liquid (2). The process comprises providing liquid (2) to a container (3) adapted to hold a liquid and/or a gas, providing magnetic activated carbon (4), mixing it, separating the magnetic activated carbon (4) using a magnetic separator (5), removing between 1 and 100% of the separated used magnetic activated carbon (4), removing the liquid (2), providing new liquid (2) to the container (3), providing the used magnetic activated carbon (4) to the container (3), adding between 1 and 100% of unused magnetic activated carbon (4), repeating the mixing and separation steps at least one time. The process allows for control of several parameters, such as the flow rate of the liquid, dosage of MAC and ratio used/unused MAC required to remove micropollutants from the liquid.

A process for treating minerals containing metal sulphide and a precious metal, the process comprising fine grinding the minerals and subjecting the minerals to a first leaching step conducted under oxidising conditions at a pH of from 5 to 7, and subjecting a pulp or suspension or solid residue from the first leaching step to a second leaching step conducted under oxidising conditions at a pH of at least 9.0.

The present invention generally relates to methods of biological reduction of metal-cyanide complexes after metal-cyanidation and methods of biologically hydrolysing cyanide. More particularly, the present invention allows the engineering of an integrated synthetic lixiviant biological system to be housed within a synthetic host (such as the cyanogenic Chromobacterium violaceum) for efficient precious metal recovery and toxic metal remediation of electronic waste; with up to four main components/modules in the design and engineering of the synthetic host: 1) synthetic cyanogenesis; 2) synthetic metal recovery; 3) synthetic cyanolysis; and 4) synthetic circuits for lixiviant biology. Bacteria capable of reducing ionic metal to ionic metal (such as gold or silver) as nanoparticles, comprising mercury(11) reductase (MerA) comprising a substitution mutation at position V317, Y441, C464, A323D, A414E, G415I, E416C, L417I, I418D, or A422N, are also disclosed. Processes of synthetic cyanide lixiviant production using genetically engineered bacterium transformed with a heterologous hydrogen cyanide synthase gene and a heterologous 3-phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase mutant gene are also disclosed. Processes of synthetic cyanolysis using a genetically engineered bacterium transformed with a heterologous nitrilase gene are also disclosed.

The present invention generally relates to methods of biological reduction of metal-cyanide complexes after metal-cyanidation and methods of biologically hydrolysing cyanide. More particularly, the present invention allows the engineering of an integrated synthetic lixiviant biological system to be housed within a synthetic host (such as the cyanogenic Chromobacterium violaceum) for efficient precious metal recovery and toxic metal remediation of electronic waste; with up to four main components/modules in the design and engineering of the synthetic host: 1) synthetic cyanogenesis; 2) synthetic metal recovery; 3) synthetic cyanolysis; and 4) synthetic circuits for lixiviant biology. Bacteria capable of reducing ionic metal to ionic metal (such as gold or silver) as nanoparticles, comprising mercury(11) reductase (MerA) comprising a substitution mutation at position V317, Y441, C464, A323D, A414E, G415I, E416C, L417I, I418D, or A422N, are also disclosed. Processes of synthetic cyanide lixiviant production using genetically engineered bacterium transformed with a heterologous hydrogen cyanide synthase gene and a heterologous 3-phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase mutant gene are also disclosed. Processes of synthetic cyanolysis using a genetically engineered bacterium transformed with a heterologous nitrilase gene are also disclosed.