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US 2008/0156656 A1Published application
Method for recovering metal values from metal-containing materials using high temperature pressure leaching
AssigneePhelps Dodge Corporation
InventorsJohn O. Marsden, Robert E. Brewer, Joanna M. Robertson, Wayne W. Hazen, Philip Thompson, David R. Baughman
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Abstract
The present invention relates generally to a process for recovering copper and other metal values from metal-containing materials through pressure leaching operations. In accordance with the various aspects of the present invention, metal-containing pregnant leach solutions from pressure leaching operations need not be significantly diluted to facilitate effective metal recovery using solvent extraction and electrowinning.
Claims4
A metal recovery process comprising the steps of:
- a) providing a metal-bearing material in a slurry form;
- b) subjecting said slurry to flotation to form a concentrated metal-bearing material;
- c) pressure leaching said concentrated metal-bearing material at a temperature in the range of about 170° C. to about 235° C. in an oxygen-containing atmosphere in a pressure leaching vessel to form a product slurry;
- d) separating said product slurry into a metal-bearing solution and a solids-containing residue;
- e) adjusting the pH of said metal-bearing solution to a pH of less than about 2.2 by combining said metal-bearing solution with a make-up diluting solution to yield a pH-adjusted metal-bearing solution, wherein the ratio of said metal-bearing solution to said make-up diluting solution is in the range of from about 1:4 to about 1:8;
- f) solvent extracting and electrowinning said pH-adjusted metal-bearing solution to yield an acid-containing raffinate solution;
- g) applying said acid-containing raffinate solution in a heap leaching operation.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.