Solid-liquid-solid hydrometallurgical method for the solubilization of metals from sulfide copper minerals and/or concentrates

A Solid-Liquid-Solid hydrometallurgical method for solubilization of metals from minerals and/or concentrates of sulfide minerals of primary and/or secondary origin containing them, wherein said method comprises sequential and/or overlapping steps as follows:

• I. Wetting, wherein the mineral or concentrate is wetted by joint addition of water and sulfuric acid at a concentration of 10 to 20 kg per ton of material;
• and sodium chloride at a concentration of 40 to 60 kg per ton of material;
• wherein a final moisture ranges from 6 to 20%;
• II. Drying and Oversaturation, wherein the wetted mineral is dried by vaporization and/or evaporation, by drying cycles ranging from 15 to 90 days, at room temperature of 20 to 40° C. generating oversaturation conditions, crystallization and recrystallization of salts, thus enhancing chemical and physical weathering, and haloclasty on the mineral or concentrate, wherein the heap is covered and protected so as to generate an increase in temperature and maintain the evaporation kinetics;
• and
• III. Washing and Re-wetting, wherein an acidulated solution with sodium chloride, wherein the sodium chloride is at a concentration of 120 to 200 g/L and where the pH of the solution is between 0.5 and 6, wherein the acidulated solution is added to remove the metals precipitated in the Drying and Oversaturation step of the process, also allowing to re-wet the mineral or concentrate in order to restore a concentration of chloride and moisture to the bed, wherein if the method is in continuous regime, the mineral or concentrate in step I is contacted with recirculating solutions of the same process that contains chloride, iron and copper ions, in an unsaturated environment, and wherein the three steps are repeated one or more successive times carried out independently of redox potential of the medium.