ME XICANA DE COME Leeching of Cu Concen tra te with 1 -1)S0, 01

It1 Row h alin g o f th e Cu Con ce nt r at e

A rovtow of tho literature covering Me numerous p.t111111

hydr011101/111UrgiColl 71000.135 for the tre atmen t of
chalcopyrite concentrates, tha t ha ve boon Inv estiga ted
and promoted over th e past twenty year s, shows that
all of the more promising processes use some degree
ml regrind ahead of the leach Asa minimum, re -grinding
of the mill concentrate In a ball mill is used to reduce the
particle WO to a P80 of about 37 pm (400 Mesh). In
seven( case s ultraflno grinding to a P80 of 10 pm
using an a ttrition mill, such as tho isem111, has been
found to be the key to achieving high leaching rates and
avoiding the coating of partially reacted chalcopyrite
particles by elemental sulfur.

A l tho ugh La C en ci. co pp er conc en t ra t e is i th e ad y

q ui te fi nel y gro und, w i th a P50 o f about 37 pm, and there Is no problem with sell. coming
of chalcopyrite particles in the concentrat ed H,SO4 leach, it is suggested t hat a fight
grinding of the concentrate in a ball mill might significantly enhance the leach kinetics and
Increase copper extraction beyond the 90% currently attainable in a 411 leach at 130°C
Test work is recommended.

8.2 L e ac hin g In Co nce n tr a te d S ulf ur ic Ac id

The cuhront lost program has domonshalocl that reproducible leach test results can be
produced consistently In laborator y tes ts with UASLP' s up -graded leach rea ctor Single
stage leaching in 90 -98% H:SO., at 130"C with 2 Urim oxygen sparge rat e has been
shown to yield copper extractions of over 80% in 2 hours and -90% after 4 hours The
copper extraction can be Increased to -95% using a 2 -stage leach with 2 hours in each
stage.

The leach temper atur e has been specifically limited to 130°C. in the hope of reducing
the corrosive nature of the leach system. The leach time has also been limited to four
hours in order to reduce the capital cost of the reactors. Under these constraints. the
optimum copper extractions In the single stage leach have fallen short of the 95% target
n or mal l y co nsi de r ed de si ra bl e f or a com me rci al proc e ss. A two -s t ag e l ea ch is on e
option for Increasing copper extraction to 95%, but It significantly increases flow sheet
complexity_

The parameters that primarily affect leaching kinetics and overall copper extraction have
b e en show n to b e of ficio, o f ag it a tio n, le ach t em pe ra t ur e a nd th e pro v is ion o f a n
oxygen sparge. The leaching rate is initially ver y rapid at 130°C, with 60% copper
extraction after 30 minutes and 75% after 1 hour, compared with only 90% after 4 hours
This observation suggest s tha t the ke y to improving overall c opper extr a ction is to
optimize the leaching conditions in the Initial stages of the Mach Factors which could
potentially Increase the Initial leaching rate include a smaller particle size. increased
leaching temperature (135 -140°C), and an Increased oxyge n sparge rat e, to maintain
mom oxidizing conditions by oxidizing Fe(II) to Fe (III) The importance of effective
agitation for maintaining optimum oxygen transfer rates should also be considered
The recycle tes ts ha ve shown tha t th e sulfuric acid leach perf orms well with acid
concentrations as low as 90%. The Excel process model has confirmed that under
equilibnum conditions, using 98% acid to replenish the leachant removed from the circuit
a s e n t r a i n e d l e ac h l i q uo r in t h e f il t e r c a k e . t h e a ci d c o nc e n t r a t i o n i n t h e l e a c h w i l t