A method of leaching copper from a copper sulfide ore which includes adding a potential adjustment agent for lowering a potential of a leaching solution obtained after leaching copper from the copper sulfide ore by using iodide ion and iron (III) ion, the leaching solution being stored in a tank for storing the leaching solution.

The invention relates to the field of efficient separation and recovery of bromine by full wet method, especially to a two-step separating method of bromide and recovery of lead and zinc from printed circuit board Incineration ash. It mainly includes first sodium hydroxide alkaline leaching, secondary sodium peroxide alkaline leaching, pH adjustment, separate lead and zinc, bromide evaporation and crystallization to recover crude bromide and other steps. Compared with traditional comprehensive recovery process of ash, the invention uses sodium hydroxide to dissolve bromide, lead and zinc, and uses the strong oxidation of sodium peroxide in alkaline environment, copper bromide and other bromine are oxidized and leached; through two-step method, the efficient leaching of bromine, lead and zinc is realized, silver and other precious metals are enriched at the same time. It is beneficial to subsequent recovery of precious metals and has the characteristics of short tail liquid discharge.

Apparatus for use in, or forming part of, a separation process to be implemented in separation processor technology, the apparatus comprising synthetic bubbles or beads configured with a polymer or polymer-based material functionalized to attach to a valuable material in a mixture so as to form an enriched synthetic bubbles or beads having the valuable material attached thereto, and also configured to be separated from the mixture based at least partly on a difference in a physical property between the enriched synthetic bubbles or beads having the valuable material attached thereto and the mixture.

The invention is directed to a process and apparatus for metal refining, in particular for refining a mixture of conductive particles, such as heavy non-ferrous particles. In accordance with the invention a feed containing a mixture of conductive particles is fed to a dissolution unit, wherein the less noble metal is separated from a metal of interest in the presence of one or more acids or complexing agents, thus producing a stream having a concentrated less noble metal and producing a conductive stream containing a metal of interest. The conductive stream is then fed to a refining unit, wherein the conductive stream is separated in a stream of concentrated metal(s) of interest and a stream of concentrated conductive particles.

A method of operating a copper or other metal value concentrator is disclosed. According to some embodiments, the method may comprise producing a final copper concentrate; periodically or continuously analyzing the produced final copper concentrate to obtain a grade value of the produced final copper concentrate; and diverting the produced final copper concentrate to a downstream smelting operation if/when the grade value of the produced final copper concentrate is at or above a minimum acceptable grade threshold; or, diverting the produced final copper concentrate to a downstream hydrometallurgical operation capable of producing copper cathode or other saleable copper product from the produced final copper concentrate, if/when the grade value of the produced final copper concentrate is below said minimum acceptable grade threshold. A copper concentrator capable of conducting the aforementioned method steps is also disclosed.

An electrochemical system and process are provided to convert an amount of chalcopyrite (CuFeS.sub.2) to a product including copper ions. In an electrochemical reactor, a potential is applied across an anode and a cathode to convert the chalcopyrite to an intermediate, chalcocite (Cu.sub.2S). The anode is covered to prevent contact with the intermediate, thus limiting subsequent conversion of the intermediate to covellite (CuS) in favor of conversion to a material more suited to chemical oxidation, cuprite (Cu.sub.2O). For example, the anode can be covered with one or more layers of filter paper. Upon application of an oxidizing agent, the cuprite is oxidized to produce a product including copper ions. The cathode and covered anode allow for efficient and inexpensive processing. The cost of this technique is comparable to industry standards, and moreover, has a much smaller environmental footprint than heat-based copper extraction.

A method of recovering gold and copper from a sulfide ore includes (a) removing valuable fines from a product stream from a comminution circuit, such as a crushing and milling circuit, for run of mine ore and producing a valuable fines concentrate stream and (b) processing the remaining comminution product stream after valuable fines removal and producing a valuable coarse concentrate stream.

A machine or apparatus featuring a first processor and a second processor. The first processor is configured to receive a mixture of fluid, valuable material and unwanted material and a functionalized polymer coated member configured to attach to the valuable material in an attachment rich environment, and provide an enriched functionalized polymer coated member having the valuable material attached thereto. The second processor is configured to receive a fluid and the enriched functionalized polymer coated member in a release rich environment to release the valuable material, and provide the valuable material released from the enriched functionalized polymer coated member.

The present invention is related generally to recovering metals from waste electronics, and more particularly to a process to recover copper and gold commonly found in waste printed circuit boards using a lixiviant containing a weak acid such as citric acid or acetic acid, a particular concentration of table salt and an oxidizer. By using this lixiviant, the copper found in the printed circuit board reacts to form copper salts and gold becomes detached. Importantly this recovery method of copper and gold found in waste PCBs is fast, does not pose environmental hazards and is economically feasible.

The present invention is related generally to recovering metals from waste electronics, and more particularly to a process to recover copper and gold commonly found in waste printed circuit boards using a lixiviant containing a weak acid such as citric acid or acetic acid, a particular concentration of table salt and an oxidizer. By using this lixiviant, the copper found in the printed circuit board reacts to form copper salts and gold becomes detached. Importantly this recovery method of copper and gold found in waste PCBs is fast, does not pose environmental hazards and is economically feasible.