C - Chemistry – Metallurgy – 22 – B
Patent
C - Chemistry, Metallurgy
22
B
C22B 3/18 (2006.01) C22B 3/20 (2006.01) C22B 3/26 (2006.01) C22B 15/00 (2006.01) C22B 23/00 (2006.01)
Patent
CA 2282848
A process for the recovery of copper and nickel from a copper and nickel sulphide concentrate in slurry form. The slurry is subjected to a biological oxidation turning the copper sulphide to soluble copper sulphate and the nickel to nickel sulphate. The liquid containing the sulphates is separated from the slurry and treated with a solvent extraction reagent so that copper ions are exchanged by the reagent for hydrogen ions to produce a raffinate which is high in sulphuric acid and low in copper sulphate. The solvent extraction reagent is then stripped from the raffinate with a sulphuric acid solution. Copper is electrically harvested from the sulphuric acid solution and a portion of the copper depleted raffinate is returned to form a slurry with additional ore for subsequent biological oxidation. Nickel is recovered from the remaining portion of the raffinate. The preferred bacterium is at least one of Thiobacillus Ferro- oxidans, Thiobacillus Thio-oxidans, Leptospirrilum Ferro-oxidans, Thiobacillum Caldus, Acidimicrobium and Sulpholobus.
Dew David William
Miller Deborah Maxine
Billiton Sa Limited
Gowling Lafleur Henderson Llp
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