Copper Recovery from Water of Soryinskoye Tailing Pond

A.B Lebed,Z.A Lebed,V.A Kuznetsov,R.I Verkhodanov,A.A Metelev

doi:10.18502/kms.v6i1.8052

Abstract

The large volume of recycling waters from the Soryinskoye tailing pond (up to 1300 m3/h) offers interesting possibilities for processing concentrates despite the low copper content (5.2-16.4 mg/l). Sulfides precipitation is the most efficient method of heavy metal ions removal from water. In this study, a sulfur solution in sodium hydroxide was used as a sulfidizing agent for precipitation. Commercial liquid alkali (NaOH – 46) and commercial sulfur were the initial agents. Due to the concentrated alkali, dissolution could be carried out at 115-120∘С, which is higher than the melting point of sulfur. Stable solutions were obtained at a weight ratio of NaOH: S = 1: 1 and a sulfur concentration of 350 g/l. During the laboratory and scale-up laboratory tests, the optimal consumption of sulfidizing agent was determined (110% of the stoichiometry for the formation of Cu2S, and copper extraction into the precipitate from the solution was more than 90.0% with high selectivity towards Zn and Fe). An extended analysis of the composition of the sediment (x-ray fluorescence spectrometer SPECTRO XEPOS) obtained during pilot trials showed that the main elements are, %: sulfur 58.4; oxygen 16.2; copper 8.9; iron 5.7; calcium 4.7 and arsenic 3.8. The total fraction of impurity elements does not exceed 2.3%. This study assumes use of the product conditioning to obtain concentrate with increased copper content and sulfur return to sulfidation stage. Keywords: acid mine drainage, copper recovery, chemical treatment, sulfide precipitation

Highlights

Large volume of recycling waters of the Soryinskoye tailing pond even though low copper content (5.2-16.4 mg/l) generates interest in its extraction into concentrates suitable for processing
During the laboratory and scale-up laboratory tests, optimal consumption of sulfidizing agent has been found, which amounted to 110% of the stoichiometry for the formation of Cu2S, and copper extraction into the precipitate from the solution was more than 90.0% with high selectivity towards Zn and Fe
Pilot tests for the selective deposition of copper from the water of the Soryinskoye tailing pond were carried out in a facility based on a 1.2 m3 steel reactor with mechanical stirring. 10 m3 of water were treated

Summary

Introduction

1. Copper Recovery from Water of Soryinskoye Tailing Pond Large volume of recycling waters of the Soryinskoye tailing pond (up to 1300 m3/h) even though low copper content (5.2-16.4 mg/l) generates interest in its extraction into concentrates suitable for processing. Due to the high content of Fe+3, Ca, Mg in water and large volumes of water, sorption technologies do not provide sufficient extraction efficiency.

Results

Conclusion