ELECTROWINNING SLURRY PREPARED BY ACID LEACHING AND PRECIPITATION OF COPPER WITH CALCIUM SULFITE

摘要

ABSTRACTApparatus and process for continuous electrowinningof copper bearing slurries, including an electrowinningcell wherein a slurry composed of a suitable electrolyteand a copper-bearing solid material, is subjected to thesimultaneous reactions or dissolving the copper materialand plating out elemental copper as a relatively purecopper product. The apparatus and process also includesmeans to purify the copper-bearing material beforepassage to the electrowinning cell so as to preventcontamination of the electrolyte in the cell and, also,a means to recover sulfur which is released during theelectrowinning and unreacted copper material. The slurryis produced by acid-leaching of copper-bearing solids andadding calcium sulfite to the acid solution to formcopper precipitate solids.