COPPER SULPHIDE LEACHING IN FERROUS CHLORIDE MEDIUM WITH BACTERIA

Abstract

A method for leaching secondary and primary sulphides of copper in a ferrous chloride medium with iron-oxidising bacteria adapted from the crushing of the mineral from the mine, includes steps of: mixing the mineral from the crushing with concentrated sulphuric acid; transporting the material mixed with sulphuric acid by means of a belt; adding a liquid leaching solution at an intermediate point during transport on the belt, the solution consisting of: iron (II) sulphate to reduce the redox potential of the solution-mineral mixture to values less than 550 mV Ag/AgCl; iron (III) sulphate; bacteria and archaea of the mesophile- and thermophile-type belonging to the genera Acidithiobacillus, Leptospirillum and Sulfulobos; and sodium chloride to produce a chlorinated environment in solutions. The method also comprises the subsequent steps of: heaping the material on heap pads; during the resting step, injecting air warmed by a liquid/air exchange system; and leaching the heaped material.

Claims

1-10 (canceled)

11. A process for leaching secondary and primary sulfides of copper in chloride-ferrous medium with iron-oxidizing bacteria adapted from the crushing of mineral from the mine, the process comprising the steps of: mixing the mineral from the crushing with concentrated sulfuric acid at a rate of 5 kg/ton to 20 kg/ton of concentrated sulfuric acid to form a material mixed with sulfuric acid; transporting the material mixed with sulfuric acid in a belt; adding a liquid leach solution at an intermediate point of conveyance of the belt, wherein the liquid leach solution includes ferrous sulfate, to reduce the redox potential of the solution-mineral mixture at values lower than 550 mV Ag/AgCl, ferric sulfate, bacteria and archaea of the Mesophyll and Thermophilic type belonging to the genus Acidithiobacillus, Leptospirillum and Sulfulobos, previously adapted in an annexed plant of bioreactors, and sodium chloride to generate the chlorinated environment in solutions; stacking the material in stacking fields for a resting step for a determined time duration according to a mineralogical composition of the mineral or operating conditions of a plant; injecting heated air in the resting step through blowers at a bottom of a stack; and leaching the stacked material through a flow of low sulfuric acid solutions with ferric ion, which contribute to a second stage of solubilization of the copper sulphides.

12. The process of claim 11, wherein the ferrous sulfate concentration ranges from 10 to 100 gr/L.

13. The process of claim 11, wherein the ferric sulfate concentration ranges from 10 to 100 gr/lt.

14. The process of claim 11, wherein the concentration of bacteria is up to 10E10 cells/ml.

15. The process of claim 14, wherein adaptation of the bacteria is carried out at a high concentration of chloride up to 200 gr/L.

16. The process of claim 11, wherein a chloride concentration is up to 200 gr/L.

17. The process of claim 11, wherein the resting step has a duration in a range from 5 days to 90 days.

18. The process of claim 11, wherein air is injected into the stack at a ratio of 0.01 to 0.02 m.sup.3 of air per ton of ore.

19. The process of claim 18, wherein the air is heated by at least one liquid/air type heat exchanger.

20. The process of claim 11, wherein in the leaching step the sulfuric acid concentration is 4-10 gr/L, with a ferric ion concentration of 1-4 gr/L.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] The above, as well as other advantages of the present disclosure, will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, particularly when considered in the light of the drawings described hereafter.

[0018] FIG. 1 corresponds to a process carried out by the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] FIG. 2 corresponds to a graph showing the recovery of Cu by leaching secondary sulphides with bacteria adapted to high chloride+FeSO4 levels, according to the preferred embodiment of the invention.

[0020] FIG. 3 corresponds to a graph showing the recovery of Cu by primary sulfide leaching with bacteria adapted to high concentrations of Chloride+ferrous sulfate, with 3 months of rest, according to the preferred modality of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] The following detailed description and appended drawings describe and illustrate various embodiments of the invention. The description and drawings serve to enable one skilled in the art to make and use the invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention in any manner. In respect of the methods disclosed, the steps presented are exemplary in nature, and thus, the order of the steps is not necessary or critical unless otherwise disclosed.

[0022] The present invention includes a process for leaching secondary and primary sulphide copper minerals as shown in FIG. 1. The mineralogy on the basis of secondary copper sulphides is predominated by Calcosine and Covelline and in the case of primary sulphides is predominated by Chalcopyrite and Bornite. This process allows to increase the recovery of copper in secondary sulphides and to increase the recovery of copper in primary sulphides predominated in mineralogy by Chalcopyrite.

[0023] The process of this invention is applied to minerals with laws between 0.05% to 1.5% for secondary sulphides and 0.05 to 0.5% in case of primary sulphides.

[0024] As the first step of the process, the ore is crushed from the mine, which is subjected to a primary, secondary and tertiary crushing operation to reach a desired granulometry, in particular in the order of p80 from 9 to 13 mm.

[0025] Subsequently, the material from the tertiary crusher is cured or mixed in a belt with sulfuric acid at a rate between 5 kg/ton to 20 kg/ton of concentrated sulfuric acid. The material cured with sulfuric acid is transported on a belt, during the course of the belt, specifically 10 to 20 meters from the sulfuric acid addition point, where a liquid solution is added preferably composed of the following characteristics:

[0026] Lixiviant solution: [0027] Ferrous Sulfate: Concentration between 10 gr/L and 100 gr/L [0028] Ferric Sulfate: Concentration from 10 to 100 gr/L [0029] Bacteria and archaea of the mesophyll and thermophilic type belonging to the genus acidithiobacillus, Leptospirillum and sulfolobos up to a concentration of 10E10 cells/ml. The peculiarity of these microorganisms is that they are adapted in an annexed plant of bioreactors at a high concentration of chloride up to 200 gr/L of chloride. [0030] Solution in medium Chloride up to 200 gr/L

[0031] The mineral previously cured by acid and lixiviant solution (ferrous, ferric and bacteria adapted to Chloride) continues its course to stacking fields for its later resting step that has a duration between 5 to 90 days, depending on the mineralogical composition of the mineral or Operating conditions of the plant.

[0032] In the resting step, air is injected by blowers at the bottom of the stack at a ratio of 0.01 to 0.02 m.sup.3 air per ton of mineral. The particularity of this air is that it is heated by at least one liquid/air type heat exchanger with a water circulation process using a heater, preferably electric, as a first step, and heating by means of solar energy in a second step. These steps allow to increase the temperature of the injected air, providing an increase of the internal heat in the stacked material or bed, thus improving the extraction of copper by generating a more favorable environment for the oxidation of the bacterial activity and increasing the kinetics of the Oxidant chemical reaction of the ferric and chloride ions on the sulfated copper ore.

[0033] In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the addition of ferrous sulfate in amounts described above, immediately after the sulfuric acid curing step, reduces the redox potential of the solution-mineral mixture to values less than 550 mV Ag/AgCl, Avoiding the formation of a passivating layer of the sulphides, especially the primary sulphides of copper, since the formation of the layer interferes with the subsequent leaching because it prevents the direct attack of the oxidizing reagents or leaching agents.

[0034] A redox potential under 550 mV Ag/AgCl maintains the sulphide ore particles in a permeable form that allows it to be leached by biological and chemical leaching or oxidizing agents. As described above, chloride-adapted bacteria are added, which have the ability to indirectly oxidize the ferrous ion to ferric ion, allowing the oxidation of the sulfur contained in the mineral matrix. Chemical reagents such as ferric ion and chloride ion, because of their oxidative capacity, solubilize copper sulfide to a compound soluble in acidic solutions.

[0035] Thus, the present invention basically consists in lowering the redox potential of the ore bed with ferrous sulfate by adding biological and chemical agents to oxidize or decompose the secondary and primary copper sulphides in the curing step for a subsequent leaching process.

[0036] Subsequent to the steps described, proceed with the leaching step. The leaching is carried out by entering into the stacked material by means of a flow of low sulfuric acid solutions (4-10 g/lt, with ferric ion (1-4 g /lt, which contributes to the second solubilization step of the copper sulphides.

[0037] Leaching provides concentrated Copper solutions, which are then transported to the SX-EW process.

[0038] FIGS. 2 and 3 show copper recovery results by the process described in the present invention with other types of copper recovery processes from secondary primary sulphides. Both figures show the clear increase in copper yield and recovery with the described process.

[0039] While certain representative embodiments and details have been shown for purposes of illustrating the invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure, which is further described in the following appended claims.