Autoclave treatment of cakes after pressure oxidation leaching of chalcopyrite concentrates

Abstract

The existing technologies for copper-porphyry ores enrichment, located in deposits in the Urals of Russia, allow the production of chalcopyrite concentrates of the following composition, %: 21.5 Cu, 24.5 Fe, 26.5 S, 0.4 Pb, 17.6 SiO2, 1.8 CaO, 2–6 Au (ppm), 20– 40 Ag (ppm). A conventional technology for processing such concentrates includes autogenous smelting, matte desulfurization and blister copper refining. Pressure oxidation leaching (POX) is considered the most promising alternative technology for chalcopyrite concentrate processing. The POX of concentrates originated from Mikheevskii GOK allow the production a cake of the following chemical composition, %: 56–65 Fe2O3, 25–30 SiO2, 2.7 Ca, 0.3–1.0 Cu, 2–7 S, 0.6–0.8 Pb, 4–12 Au (ppm), 40–80 Ag (ppm); mass loss was 37–45 %. A standard method of cake cyaniding provides satisfactory indicators of precious metal extraction, but it requires a cumbersome area to be arranged for their processing and offers no solution for residue disposal. In this regard, this paper investigates the method of subsequent cake processing using autoclave treatment (AT) for iron removal. The study shows how the following parameters affect the results of this process: t = 110÷210 °C, H2SO4 = 15÷60 g/dm3, τ = 45÷ ÷120 min. A statistic description of the AT operation is developed. Recommended AT conditions (t = 110 °C, H2SO4 = 60 g/dm3, τ = 60÷100 min) allow to obtain the POX cake yield reduced to 30–35 % of the source material with the following composition, %: 28–33 Fe2O3, 47–53 SiO2, 2–5 Ca, 0.6–2.0 Cu, 0.8–1.5 Pb, 2–8 S. At the same time, the content of precious metals in the cake reaches 12–16 Au (ppm) and 80–120 Ag (ppm). Options for using AT products are proposed.