REDUCED ACID LEACHING AND RESIN IN LEACH EXTRACTION FROM ACID CONSUMING COPPER ORES

摘要

The invention provides processes that significantly reduce acid consumption while maintaining efficient leach recovery of copper from oxide and acid consuming ores. The invention provides a hydrometallurgical process that reduces acid required for leaching in the presence of a solid ion exchange media. The presence of the ion exchanger leads to copper extraction from solution into the ion exchange phase, the removal of the copper from solution shifts the dissolved copper equilibrium, enabling additional copper dissolution at weak acidities where normally the leaching equilibrium would be hindered. In select embodiments, the process is not reliant on an external neutralising agent to control pH but rather on the acid consuming characteristic of the ore being processed and a limit to the amount of acid added. At the pH at which the leach is controlled, iron (if present) is predominantly present as the ferrous ion, which has a lower affinity for the resin than copper.