Methods and systems for leaching a metal-bearing material
AssigneeFreeport Minerals Corporation
InventorSarah Lyons
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Abstract
Methods for recovering a metal value from a metal-bearing material are provided. The method comprises agglomerating the metal-bearing material with an agglomeration solution comprising a raffinate, an oxidant, and citric acid or salts thereof to form an agglomerated metal-bearing material; leaching the agglomerated metal-bearing material with a leaching solution comprising the raffinate and the citric acid or salts thereof to produce a pregnant leaching solution and a leached material; re-oxidizing the leached material with a curing solution comprising the raffinate and the oxidant; and recovering the metal value from the pregnant leach solution to produce the raffinate.
Claims20
A cyclic process comprising:
- leaching a metal-bearing material comprising a metal value with a leaching solution comprising a raffinate, sulfuric acid, an oxidant, and citric acid or salts thereof, to produce a leached material and a pregnant leach solution, the leached material comprising ferrous (Fe2+) ions and ferric (Fe3+) ions;
- curing the leached material with a curing solution comprising the raffinate and the oxidant to re-oxidize the ferrous (Fe2+) ions to ferric (Fe3+) ions and to produce a cured leached material;
- recycling the ferric (Fe3+) ions to the leaching step;
- and
- recovering the metal value from the pregnant leach solution to produce the metal value and the raffinate;
- wherein the raffinate obtained after recovering the metal value is recycled to the leaching.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.