Cationic graft polymer agglomeration agents for mineral bearing ores
AssigneeBetz Laboratories, Inc.
InventorsDavid M. Polizzotti, Wen P. Liao, Donald C. Roe
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Abstract
Agglomerating agent and method for use in heap leaching of mineral bearing ores. Cationic polymers alone or in combination with cement or lime are highly effective agglomerating agents in acidic or alkaline leaching operations. The cationic polymers are preferably graft copolymers, block copolymers or linear copolymers of acrylamide and diallyl dimethyl ammonium chloride.
Claims12
In a process for percolation leaching of minerals from a mineral bearing ore wherein the ore is first agglomerated with an agglomeration agent, formed into a heap and then leached by percolating a leaching solution through the heap which extracts the minerals from the agglomerated ore for subsequent recovery, the improvement in which the agglomerating agent comprises a cationic copolymer selected from the group consisting of:
- graft copolymers of the general structure:
- ##STR8## wherein E is the repeat unit obtained after polymerization of an .alpha., .beta. ethylenically unsaturated compound, the molar percentage of a:b is from about 95:5 to 5:95, with the proviso that the sum of a and b equals 100%, G comprises the structure:
- ##STR9## wherein R.sub.1, R.sub.2 and R.sub.3 are the same or different and are hydrogen or a lower alkyl group having C.sub.1 to C.sub.3, F is the salt of an ammonium cation and the molar percentage of c:d is from 95:5 to 5:95 with the proviso that the sum of c and d equals 100%.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.