HYDROMETALLURGICAL PROCESS FOR THE OBTENTION OF CATHODIC COOPER OF HIGH PURITY FROM COPPER AND FURTHER OXIDISED MINERALS.

摘要

The present invention is related to the industry for extracting metals from the minerals containing the same. More particularly the invention refers to a novel hydrometallurgical process for extracting copper from minerals containing the same in an oxidised form. The inventive process is advantageous over the state-of-the-art processes since it achieves an industrial production of cathodic copper of high purity; it does not require any container subjected to pressure, only requiring diverse plastic tanks and/or some steel tanks with an acid-diluted-resistant cover, pumps made of plastics or metals resistant to corrosion, wherein no effluent is discharged. The process is characterised in that it comprises the following steps: a) lixiviating the material by a bath of diluted sulphuric acid; b) cementing by means of scrap iron; c) purifying the concentrated copper solution by means of lixiviation, filtration and crystallization and d) electrodepositing the solution wherein the electrolyt e produced in step c) is heated up to 35°C so as to be flowed to electrolytic cells where the last step for cleaning-removing impurities is performed.