Back to results
US 2021/0156003 A1Published application
Recovery of metals from pyrite
AssigneeCobalt Blue Holdings Ltd
InventorAndrew Robert TONG
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A process is disclosed for the recovery of a metal from a pyrite-bearing material. The process comprises thermally decomposing the pyrite-bearing material so as to produce a material comprising pyrrhotite (FeS). The process also comprises leaching the material comprising pyrrhotite with an acid such that the iron in the pyrrhotite is oxidised to a +3 oxidation state, elemental sulphur is produced and the metal is released from the pyrite-bearing material.
Claims16
A process for treating a pyrite-bearing material to enable the recovery therefrom of a metal, elemental sulphur and Fe2O3, the process comprising:
- (a) thermally decomposing the pyrite-bearing material so as to produce a material comprising pyrrhotite (FeS) and a separate elemental sulphur material;
- (b) leaching the material comprising pyrrhotite from (a) with an acid, the leaching conditions being controlled such that the metal is released from the material comprising pyrrhotite, the iron in the pyrrhotite is oxidised to Fe2O3, and the sulphur in the pyrrhotite is oxidised to elemental sulphur in a form that is separate from the metal and that is separable from the Fe2O3.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.