Hydrometallurgical Treatments of Copper Ores, By-Products and Waste

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2024 | Viewed by 839

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Metallurgical and Mining Engineering Department, Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta 1240000, Chile
Interests: hydrometallurgical treatments and surface characterization

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Guest Editor
Metallurgical and Mining Engineering Department, Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta 1240000, Chile
Interests: green mining; mining waste valorization; hydrometallurgy; polymetallic mining

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Guest Editor
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Universitat de Barcelona, 0828 Barcelona, Spain
Interests: microstructural characterization; siderurgy; hydrometallurgy
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Mining plays a vital role in sustaining the economy while minimizing its ecological impact on the environment, and also promotes social growth. Conventional hydrometallurgy treatment comprises three main stages. The first stage is leaching, in which mineral dissolution occurs via the action of an acidic solution. Then, the solvent extraction stage generates an electrolyte solution with a high acid and copper concentration and a low presence of impurities. Finally, electrowinning, via the use of redox reactions, enables copper to be obtained as a cathode.

One of the challenges associated with hydrometallurgical processes is the treatment of refractory copper minerals under conventional leaching conditions, such as black copper oxide and sulfide ores, and chalcopyrite in particular. Furthermore, the dissolution of by-products from extractive copper metallurgy, along with the hydrometallurgical treatment of waste, presents an important alternative in the valorization of metal resources. Novel leaching media and pretreatment alternatives are also considered to be stages or processes that benefit the hydrometallurgical treatment of the copper industry.

This Special Issue welcomes the submission of papers presenting novel and original ideas on the hydrometallurgical treatment of copper ores, by-products and waste. The scope of this Special Issue primarily includes the following topics: (1) the dissolution of oxidized or sulfide copper ores, (2) the application of pretreatments or new dissolution media, (3) the leaching of residues or waste containing copper or other metals, (4) the dissolution of elements from by-products of extractive copper metallurgy, and (5) the impact of the dissolution of copper minerals, by-products or waste in the solvent extraction and/or electrowinning stages.

Dr. Víctor Quezada
Dr. María Cecilia Hernández Vera
Dr. Alisiya Biserova-Tachieva
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • leaching
  • hydrometallurgy
  • copper sulfide ore
  • copper oxidized ore
  • dissolution
  • solvent extraction

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

12 pages, 2696 KiB  
Article
Effect of Curing Time and Ferric Chloride on a Copper Concentrate with a High Arsenic Content
by Víctor Quezada, Stephano Zepeda, Oscar Benavente, María Cecilia Hernández and Evelyn Melo
Minerals 2024, 14(11), 1063; https://doi.org/10.3390/min14111063 - 23 Oct 2024
Viewed by 537
Abstract
As a result of changes in copper mineralogy, various treatment options for copper sulfides have been explored, including pretreatment processes aimed at enhancing material permeability and improving the dissolution of valuable minerals. Despite its significance, this topic has only recently gained attention. In [...] Read more.
As a result of changes in copper mineralogy, various treatment options for copper sulfides have been explored, including pretreatment processes aimed at enhancing material permeability and improving the dissolution of valuable minerals. Despite its significance, this topic has only recently gained attention. In this research, a copper concentrate with a high arsenic content was studied, with enargite (Cu3AsS4) as the main mineral phase. The objective was to evaluate the effect of pretreatment on copper extraction efficiency prior to leaching. Three key variables were investigated: curing time (0, 5, 10, and 15 days), H2SO4 dosage (0, 70, 140, and 210 kg/t), and FeCl3 concentration (0, 0.5, 1, and 1.5 M). The sample was characterized both before and after pretreatment, revealing the formation of new species such as CuSO4·5H2O and Cu2Cl(OH)3 under optimal conditions of 15 days curing time, 70 kg/t of H2SO4, and 1 M FeCl3. Copper extraction solely through curing reached 20.79%. The analysis suggests that curing time is the most influential factor in the process, accounting for 46% of the overall contribution. In comparison, sulfuric acid and ferric chloride contribute less, with 20% and 10% contributions, respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrometallurgical Treatments of Copper Ores, By-Products and Waste)
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