Copper recovery by leaching and ion exchange

A process for the recovery of copper values from copper-bearing ores comprising:

• a. leaching the ore with mineral acid in the presence of water to produce a pregnant liquor stream containing dissolved metal values, and washing the leached ore residue with an internal recycle stream from step (c) in addition to other wash waters,
• b. passing additional water through the leach vessel containing spent ore residues, said ore being disposed from the system and said water being subsequently combined with the pregnant liquor stream from step (a) to form a resultant stream which is then passed through a
• c. first solid ion exchange section containing at least one stage having a solid ion exchange agent for adsorption of copper values, said ion exchange section producing a loaded solid ion exchange agent and an aqueous raffinate stream containing metal values not extracted from resultant stream of step (b) and separating said raffinate stream into a first internal stream of aqueous raffinate and a second internal stream of aqueous raffinate,
• d. passing the first internal raffinate recycle stream back to step (a) leach system, and
• e. passing the second internal stream to a second ion exchange section having at least one copper adsorption stage containing a second ion exchange agent where the metal values are adsorbed by the ion exchange agent at a low pH, said solid ion exchange stage producing a loaded solid ion exchange agent and a disposal stream, while;
• f. the solid ion exchange agent from step (e) is eluted in at least one elution stage in the presence of sufficient eluting acid containing aqueous eluting agent, resulting in a regenerated ion exchange agent and eluate acid stream;
• g. reusing the regenerated ion exchange agent from step (f) in the adsorption stage of step (e) while;
• h. the eluate acid stream of step (f), containing recovered copper values is passed to the process described in step (a), while;
• i. the loaded ion exchange agent produced in step (c) is subjected to at least one regeneration stage wherein a regenerated ion exchange agent and a pregnant electrolyte stream (eluate) is produced, subsequently;
• j. reusing the regenerated ion exchange agent on the resultant stream for copper adsorption of step (c), while;
• k. passing the eluate pregnant electrolyte to a metal recovery process from which exits a spent electrolyte which is recycled as eluting solution to step (i) as a stripping agent, while;
• l. recovering the copper values as copper from step (k).