Sequential treatment process for the heap leaching of primary and secondary copper sulphides

A sequential treatment process for primary and secondary copper sulphide heap leaching of copper sulfide and mixed ores, which improves the thermodynamics and physicochemical balances and generates benefits on the metallurgical performance of the sequential treatment comprising the following stages:

• mixing an ore with an acidic (unsaturated) brine;
• wherein the brine is added in conventional systems onto the ore that is belt conveyed for disposal in a dynamic leaching heap (1) to obtain an ore-brine mixture;
• allowing the ore-brine mixture to stand on folders and in said dynamic leaching heap or primary leaching heap, effecting prolonged thermal rest comprising adding external heat by blowing heated saturated air into a bed (2);
• subjecting to primary ore leaching by:
• oxidizing chemical (3), in which a conventional irrigation stage is carried out, where the irrigation is carried out first with an intermediate leach solution (ILS) with concentrations of chlorine greater than 40 g/L but less than 100 g/L and with Cu and Fe(T) concentration greater than 1 g/L and subsequently with refining solution with concentrations of chlorine greater than 40 g/L but less than 100 g/L;
• carrying out a stage of excavation of leached ore (gravel) and adding saturated brine on belt (4), in which prior to its disposal in a permanent heap or secondary leaching heap of stage f), a over-saturated brine in chlorine is added on said gravel arranged on belt at a ratio of 0.5 to 3 kilograms of brine per ton of gravel or leached ore;
• letting said gravel to rest in a permanent heap, generating a new rest without irrigation for a period of 45 to 90 days (5);
• and
• subjecting said gravel (6) to a secondary leach, which is a oxidizing chemical leaching that contemplates a non-irrigation irrigation mode to favor aeration by natural convention in said permanent heap.