Operational changes at Phelps Dodge's Morenci Mine

摘要

In late 1999, Phelps Dodge announced that Morenci would curtail concentrator operations and crush high-grade leachable supergene ore exclusively for hydrometallurgical production in a project, which has become known as Mine-for-Leach (MFL). This would transform Morenci into a totally electrowon copper producer and expand hydrometallurgical production of copper by over 240 million pounds of copper per year to a total of 820 million pounds. The MFL project was commissioned during the first quarter of 2001 at a capital cost of approximately 220 million dollars. The transformation of the Morenci property into MFL was the result of the combination of many factors; recognizing the deposit would experience declining ore grades, the cyclic copper market, and technological developments in low cost hydrometallurgical processing. This paper reviews many of those changes including the most recent changes in the hydrometallurgical processes.