Low-Pressure Leaching of Duluth Complex Matte

摘要

The Bureau of Mines conducted bench-scale leaching tests with recycled spent copper electrolytes and copper-nickel mattes produced from the Minnesota Duluth Complex concentrates. This report describes the first stage of an overall two-stage leach operation. The objective of this research was to determine the matte-leach technology required to convert spent copper elecrolyte into an enriched nickel liquor suitable for a nickel refinery and therefore essentially free of copper, iron, and sulfuric acid. The experimental variables investigated were matte composition, particle size, spent electrolyte content, pulp concentration, oxygenation, temperature, and time.