Recovery of metal values from manganese deep sea nodules using ammoniacal cuprous leach solutions
AssigneeKennecott Copper Corporation
InventorLester J. Szabo
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Abstract
A process in which copper, nickel, cobalt and molybdenum are recovered by direct leaching of comminuted raw manganese nodules with an aqueous ammoniacal leach solution containing cuprous ions. During the process cuprous ions reduce the nodules, are consumed, and are oxidized to cupric ions. The cuprous ions are regenerated by reducing the cupric ions with a reducing gas.
Claims40
A process for treating manganese nodules to enable at least one metal values selected from the group consisting of copper, nickel, cobalt and molybdenum to be recovered therefrom comprising the steps of:
- a. grinding the nodules;
- b. contacting the ground nodules with an ammoniacal solution containing cuprous ions to reduce the manganese oxides in the nodules and enable the metal values to be recovered to be leached from the nodules into the leach solution;
- and
- c. separating the leach solution containing the metal values to be recovered from the reduced nodules.
A continuous process for treating manganese nodules to enable metal values selected from the group consisting of copper, nickel, cobalt and molybdenum to be recovered therefrom comprising the following steps:
- a. contacting and intimately mixing a cuprous ion containing ammoniacal solution with the manganese nodules to form a slurry, the contacting and mixing of the cuprous ions and nodules reducing the manganese in the nodules as the cuprous ions form cupric ions;
- b. contacting the slurry with a reducing gas to reduce cupric ions to cuprous ions and thereby maintain a continuous supply of cuprous ions;
- c. separating the reduced nodules from the ammoniacal solution;
- d. washing the reduced nodules obtained in step (c) with a wash solution to remove entrained metal values therefrom and yield a wash effluent containing the metal values to be recovered;
- and,
- e. recovering metal values from the wash effluent.
A continuous process for treating manganese nodules to enable copper, nickel, cobalt and molybdenum values contained therein to be recovered therefrom comprising the steps of:
- a. contacting a copper containing ammoniacal leach solution with a reducing gas in a vessel to reduce the copper and produce an ammoniacal leach solution containing cuprous ions;
- b. contacting the ammoniacal leach solution containing cuprous ions prepared in step (a) with ground manganese nodules to form a slurry and reduce the manganese oxides in the nodules;
- c. separating the reduced nodules in the slurry from the leach solution to leave a pregnant leach solution containing copper, nickel, cobalt and molybdenum metal values;
- d. washing the nodule residue with an ammoniacal-ammonium carbonate wash solution to remove entrained metal values from the nodule residue and yield a wash effluent containing copper, nickel, cobalt and molybdenum values;
- and
- e. recovering metal values from the wash effluent.
A process for treating manganese deep sea nodules to enable metal values selected from the group consisting of copper, nickel, cobalt and molybdenum contained therein to be recovered comprising the following steps:
- a. loading a plurality of vessels connected in series with an ammoniacal leach solution containing cuprous ions;
- b. grinding manganese nodules;
- c. introducing the ground nodules into a vessel loaded in step (a) to form a slurry in which the manganese in the nodules is reduced by the cuprous ions to enable metal values in the nodules to be solubilized in the ammoniacal leach solution while the cuprous ions form cupric ions;
- d. contacting the slurry in the series of vessels with carbon monoxide to convert cupric ions to cuprous ions;
- e. cascading the slurry in one vessel to the next vessel in the series of vessels;
- f. withdrawing the slurry from a last vessel in the series of vessels;
- g. separating a pregnant leach solution from the nodule residue;
- h. recycling the pregnant leach solution to a vessel as pregnant leach solution recycle;
- i. washing the nodule residue with wash liquor to remove entrained pregnant leach liquor from the nodule residue and to produce a pregnant wash liquor, and
- j. recovering metal values from the pregnant wash liquor.
In a process for recovering metal values from a complex manganese ore in which the metal values to be recovered are bound within the ore by manganese oxides, the process being of the type in which the manganese ore is reduced to enable the metal values contained therein to be solubilized in a leach solution wherein the improvement comprises contacting the manganese ore with an aqueous solution containing cuprous ions to reduce the manganese oxides in the ore and enable the metal values to be leached therefrom.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.