Base metal recovery
AssigneeLakefield Research Ltd.
InventorCesar J. Ferron
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A process for recovering a base metal from a material, the base metal being selected from cobalt, copper, nickel and zinc, the process comprising the steps of reacting the host material with a ferric ion species in a leach solution, at conditions sufficient to cause at least a portion of the base metal to be oxidized by the ferric ion species, thereby causing the ferric ion species to be converted to a ferrous ion species, and oxidizing the ferrous ion species with an oxidation mixture of SO2 and oxygen to form the ferric ion species for subsequent reaction with the material.
Claims21
A process of treating a base metal sulphide wherein the base metal is selected from cobalt, copper, nickel and zinc, comprising the steps of:
- a) exposing said base metal sulphide to a leach solution including a first ferric ion species therein, at conditions sufficient to liberate at least a portion of said base metal, thereby causing said first ferric ion species to be reduced to a first ferrous ion species;
- b) reacting said first ferrous ion species with an aqueous oxidation mixture of non-gaseous SO2 and oxygen, at conditions sufficient to oxidize said first ferrous ion species to a second ferric ion species;
- c) exposing said base metal sulphide to said leach solution including said second ferric ion species at conditions sufficient to liberate a base metal ion, thereby causing said second ferric ion species to be reduced to a second ferrous ion species;
- and
- d) repeating step b) for said second ferrous ion species.
A process for recovering a base metal from a heap of base metal sulphide ore materials, the base metal being selected from cobalt, copper, nickel and zinc, the process comprising the steps of:
- forming a regenerative leach circuit containing a leach solution with a ferric ion species, for distributing the leach solution throughout said heap in order to react said material with the ferric ion species in the leach solution, at conditions sufficient to cause at least a portion of said base metal to be oxidized by said ferric ion species, thereby causing said ferric ion species to be converted to a ferrous ion species, wherein said leach solution also contains an oxidation mixture of SO2 and oxygen in order to oxidize said ferrous ion species to form said ferric ion species for subsequent reaction with said material.
A process for recovering a base metal from a heap of base metalsulphide ore, the base metal being selected from cobalt, copper, nickel and zinc, the process comprising:
- preparing a regenerative leach circuit to carry a leach solution containing a ferric ion species;
- distributing the leach solution throughout said heap in order to react said material with the ferric ion species in the leach solution, at conditions sufficient to cause at least a portion of said base metal to be oxidized by said ferric ion species, thereby causing said ferric ion species to be converted to a ferrous ion species, and
- oxidizing said ferrous ion species with an oxidation mixture of SO2 and oxygen to form said ferric ion species for subsequent reaction with said material.
A process for recovering a base metal from a processed base metal sulphide ore material, the base metal being selected from cobalt, copper, nickel and zinc, the process comprising providing a regenerative leach circuit, distributing a leach solution through the regenerative leach circuit which contains a ferric ion species throughout said material in order to react said base metal sulphide ore material with said ferric ion species, at conditions sufficient to cause at least a portion of said base metal to be oxidized by said ferric ion species, thereby causing said ferric ion species to be converted to a ferrous ion species, wherein said leach solution also contains an oxidation mixture of oxygen and a metabisulphite as source for SO2, in order to oxidize said ferrous ion species to form said ferric ion species for subsequent reaction with said base metal sulphide ore material and wherein the leach solution is substantially the entire source of the ferric ion species.
A process installation for recovering base metal selected from cobalt, copper, nickel or zinc from a base metal sulphide, the process comprising:
- preparing a leach solution regeneration circuit which includes a quantity of ferric ion species;
- providing a volume of the sulphide;
- directing the regeneration circuit through the volume of sulphide to expose the sulphide to the leach solution including the quantity of ferric ion species under conditions sufficient to cause at least a portion of the said base metal to be oxidized by said ferric ion species, thereby causing said ferric ion species to be converted to a ferrous ion species,
- oxidizing said ferrous ion species while in the regeneration circuit with an oxidation mixture of SO2 and oxygen to form said ferric ion species for subsequent reaction with said material in the regeneration circuit,
- wherein the regeneration circuit provides substantially the entire source of the ferric ion species.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.