A mineral processing method capable of efficiently separating a copper mineral from a molybdenum mineral is provided. The mineral processing method includes: a conditioning step of adding sulfite as a surface treatment agent to a mineral slurry containing a copper mineral and a molybdenum mineral; and a flotation step of performing flotation using the mineral slurry after the conditioning step. The hydrophilicity of the copper mineral can be selectively enhanced by sulfite, so as to be able to produce a difference in hydrophilicity between the copper mineral and the molybdenum mineral. Therefore, the molybdenum mineral can be selectively caused to float, and the copper mineral and the molybdenum mineral can be efficiently separated from each other.

The present invention relates to a method for recovering metals using an adsorbent, which comprises preparing a leachate comprising metal ions and cyanides, wherein the metal ions comprise gold ions and copper ions; and in a state where the leachate has a cyanide (CN) concentration of 0.1 ppm or greater, adding to the leachate an adsorbent, which has an open circuit potential value between the open circuit potential value of the gold ions and that of the copper ions; and selectively adsorbing the copper ions to the adsorbent.

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.

Method of separation of a radiometal ion from a target metal ion, comprising a first liquid-liquid extraction step in which an organic phase comprising an extractant and an interfacial tension modifier is mixed with an aqueous phase comprising the radiometal ion and the target metal ion in order that the radiometal ion is at least partially transferred to the organic phase, followed by a first phase separation step, wherein the phase separation is carried out in flow comprising the use of a microfiltration membrane to separate the phases based on the interfacial tension between the phases such that a permeate phase passes through the membrane and a retentate phase does not.

The invention relates to a control system for a copper extraction process having at least a leaching phase, a solvent extraction phase and an electrowinning phase, the leaching phase comprising a post leach thickener. The control system comprises first measuring units to measure volume and total suspended solids in an influent of the post leach thickener, and at least one second measuring unit to measure at least total suspended solids relating to effluent of the post leach thickener. The control system comprises also a control unit to receive measurements of the first measuring units and the second measuring units. The control unit forms a control signal to a polymer dosing into the influent of the post leach thickener, and another control signal to an organic solvent dosing in the solvent extraction phase.

A modified selective recirculation circuit has a loading stage, a stripping stage and a filtering stage for use in processing a feed stream or slurry containing mineral particles. The stripping stage forms a first loop with the loading stage, a second loop with the filtering stage. The loading stage has a loading mixer and a loading washing screen. The stripping stage has a stripping mixer and a stripping washing screen. The loading mixer receives the slurry and causes barren media in the circuit to contact with the slurry so that the mineral particles in the slurry are loaded onto the barren media. The media is directed to the stripping stage where the mineral particles are removed from the media. The barren media is recycled to the loading stage. The stripping solution recovered from the filtering stage is returned to the stripping stage and the mineral particles are discharged as concentrate.

A method for processing ores containing gold or refining intermediates containing gold, the refining intermediate being obtained by subjecting the ores to a refining process, wherein the method includes: a leaching step of leaching gold from the ores or the refining intermediates using a sulfate solution containing iodide ions and iron (III) ions as a leaching solution; an adsorption step of adsorbing iodine and gold in the leached solution obtained in the leaching step on activated carbon; and an iodine separation step of separating iodine from the activated carbon while leaving gold on the activated carbon that has undergone the adsorption step.

A method of processing copper and nickel sulfide materials, including oxidizing torrefaction of a material to obtain cinder, leaching the cinder with a cycling solution, separating a leaching residue, and electro-extraction of copper from a leaching solution. The cinder and particulates generated by the torrefaction are separately leached. The particulates are leached in a cycling copper raffinate together with a separated portion of solution from a cinder processing line, the separated portion consisting of a portion of solution provided to the leaching after electro-extraction of copper. Particulates leaching residue is separated. Copper is extracted by solvent extraction from a particulates leaching solution, followed by separate electro-extraction of copper from a circulating re-extract. Then, a portion of the raffinate is separated to be forwarded to a nickel production process.

A solution for leaching metals from clay containing ore and a method of leaching ore is described. The solution comprises a cyanide; a wetting agent; and a clay stabilizing polymer.

The present invention relates to a method for recovering metals using an adsorbent, which comprises preparing a leachate comprising metal ions and cyanides, wherein the metal ions comprise gold ions and copper ions; and in a state where the leachate has a cyanide (CN) concentration of 0.1 ppm or greater, adding to the leachate an adsorbent, which has an open circuit potential value between the open circuit potential value of the gold ions and that of the copper ions; and selectively adsorbing the copper ions to the adsorbent.