RECOVERY OF NOBLE METALS FROM INORGANIC AND/OR ORGANIC RESIDUE BY CONTACTING THE RESIDUE WITH TELLURIUM OR A REDUCIBLE TELLURIUM COMPOUND CHARACTERISED BY ADDING HIGH BOILING SOLVENT BEFORE FURTHER TREATMENT

摘要

The present invention concerns a process for the recovery of a noble metal from an inorganic and/or organic residue in the form of a tellurium amalgam characterised by adding a solvent having a boiling point above 120 DEG C to the residue, removing by distillation water and other residual solvents having boiling points below the boiling point of the added solvent, adding the tellurium or reducible tellurium compound, and then refluxing at atmospheric pressure before separating the amalgam of the noble metal. The process of the present invention also allows the simultaneous recovery of the tertiary phosphine as its oxide from a residue containing a tertiary phosphine by the further stages of concentrating the mother-liquors remaining after separation of the amalgam of the noble metal, recovering the added high boiling point solvent and isolating the tertiary phosphine in the form of its oxide by precipitation with water.