INSTITUTO POLITECNICO NACIONAL

ESCUELA SUPERIOR DE INGENIERIA QUIMICA E INDUSTRIAS

EXTRACTIVAS

Exposicin sobre los temas:

3.7 The Minimet Recherche process
3.7.1 Rejection of iron

POR LOS ALUMNOS:

REYES RANGEL LUIS OMAR

PEDRO YEDRA

CECILIA OROZCO

JOSE FABIAN ANGUIANO

ASIGNATURA: HIDROMETALURGIA

A very interesting approach using a cupric chloride

solution as the leaching mdium, and recovering the
copper by solvent extraction - electrowinning has been
suggested by Minimet Recherche (Imetal Group). By
combining the solvent extraction step and the
regeneration of the leach solution, using oxygen as an
oxidis- ing agent, only electricity and air are required to
operate the process.

Cupric chloride

Copper concntrate

Cupric chloride

Gongue material and

LEACHING

sulphur

AIR

Cuprous Chloride

GOETHITE
PRECIPITATION

AIR

COPPER
SOLVENT
EXTRACTION

RECOVERY OF
OTHER METALS
Bleed

Organic Solution

FeOOH

STRIPPING

ELECTROWINNING
The Minimet Recherche process for copper. (PM=Precious Metals)

Coopper metal

Zn, Pb, Cu, PM

The basic flowsheet is shown in Fig. 12. The leaching step

is carried out with a cupric chloride solution containing
about 250 g/1 of sodium chloride to avoid precipitation of
cuprous chloride. The leaching takes place at a pH not
greater than 1. For chalcopyrite the temperature is kept
cise to the boiling point. By leaching in two stages it is
reported that more than 98 % of the iron and copper
passes into solution, the leaching reaction being:

3CuCl2 + CuFeS2 - 4CuCl + FeCl2 + 2S

From this equation it vvill be seen that only one quarter

of the copper from the leach reaction is to be withdrawn
from the circuit as a metal product. To achieve this goal
the leach solution containing CuCl, FeCl2 and NaCl s split
in two halves, with one half directed to the solvent
extraction - electrowinning circuit.

The extraction of copper takes place with the copper

sclective reagent LIX 65N (RH) which will release H+
during the extraction. By a simultaneous introduction of
air to the extraction stage, however, the H + will be
consumed by the oxidation of the cuprous ions to the
cupric state. Thus the simplified overall reaction for the
simultaneous oxidation and extraction will be:

2CuCl +2RH + 1/202 R2Cu + CuCl2 + H20

The loaded solvent may subsequently be stripped by a

spent electrolyte solution of sulphuric acid:

R2Cu + H2SO4 CuSO4 + 2RH

Both the extraction and the electrolysis steps are closedloop processes and the copper should be obtained as a
high quality product by conventional electrolysis from a
sulphate solution.

The aqueous raffinate solution I from the solvent

extraction, containing re- generated cupric chloride, is
returned to the leaching stage, probably via the iron
rejection stage for at least partial removal of the
appreciable amount of ferrous ions present.


Rejection
of iron. From equation (28) it will be seen that one mole of iron has to rejected from the
processing circuit for each mole of copper produced from chalcopyrite. It is reported that iron will be
precipitated as goethite at atmosphere presure by simple oxidation of the leach solution by air. Both
the ferrous and the cuprous ions will thus be oxidiesed and obviously the coupled effect of the redox
systems is of particular advantage in this case.
The overall reaction for the goethite precipitation will be:
(28)

The pH is stabilised at its optimum value of 2-6 and the temperature kept above 80C to ensure
that the precipitate has good filterability. It is to be noted that according to equation (31) the
simultaneous cuprous chloride oxidation and goethite precipitation will be in balance with two
moles of cuprous ions oxidised for each mole of iron rejected. Taking into account that half of the
cuprous to cupric oxidation takes place in the solvent extraction step, it will be realized that the
overall (Cu/Fe) ration of 4 of the leaching reaction (28) is in balance for the overall process.

THE MINIMET RECHERCHE PROCESS HAS BEEN FURTHER DEVELOPED FOR TREATMENT
OF COMPLEX SULPHIDE ORES. IT IS CLAIMED TO BE A VERY FLEXIBLE PROCESS FOR NONFERROUS METALS, PARTICULARLY ZN, PB AND CU.

THIS PROCESS IS CARRIED OUT BY SELECTIVE LEACHING WITH THE CUPRIC CHLORIDE
SOLUTION.

Any pyrite present in the sulphide ore will remain unattacked.

The Zinc will be recovered from the leaching solution by a similar oxidation-extraction
process as is shown above for copper using an extracting agent selective for Zinc.

Its a great adventage of the process that the steps of solvent extraction of copper/Zinc
and the rejection of iron as goethite can be balancead by the simultaneous oxidation and
regeneration of the cupric chloride leach solution .

Thus avoiding the adittion of any further external source of chemical agents within the
processing circuit.

On the other hand, this may have to be paid for by an appreciable coprecipitation and loss
of copper in
the goethite precipitation.