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US 4,225,571 AGranted
Electrowinning of metal from sulphide ores and recovery of water soluble sulphides
AssigneesBerenice Isabelle de Denus, David Vivian Smith, Jennifer May Smith
InventorRobert N. de Denus
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Abstract
Process and apparatus for the electrowinning of metals from sulphide ores wherein a sulphide ore is initially leached in a water soluble sulphide solution, alkali is then added, and the resulting solution is electrolyzed so as to deposit metal at the cathode and obtain water soluble sulphide as a by-product. The process is particularly suitable for obtaining antimony from stibnite.
Claims14
A method of obtaining antimony from stibnite ore including the steps of:
- (a) leaching in a leaching vessel the stibnite ore in a concentrated solution of a water soluble sulphide and in the absence of OH.sup.- wherein the concentration of sulphide ion is approximately the same as the concentration of antimony whereby the following reaction occurs:
- Sb.sub.2 S.sub.3 +S.sup.-2 .fwdarw.2SbS.sub.2.sup.-
- (b) transferring the leaching solution containing SbS.sub.2.sup.- to a separate reaction vessel and adding a solution containing OH.sup.- in an amount sufficient to yield an OH.sup.- concentration in the solution approximately the same as the concentration of antimony, and
- (c) electrolyzing the solution after step (b) in an electrolytic cell to deposit antimony metal at the cathode according to the reaction:
- Ti 4SbS.sub.2 +12OH.sup.- .fwdarw.4Sb.dwnarw.+8S.sup.-2+ 6H.sub.2 O+3O.sub.2.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.