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Copper processing pilot plant (2 replies)
Hi Dadson, 5 tons by ore? This will get about 500 kgs per day.This is good pilot.
You need consultancy engineering service. For all your questions can get answer after doing a metallurgical program to get best results.
You can contact me and I will give you an offer.
Best regards
Georgi
Dear Dadson,
I will try to help for your project :
- Crushing size for heap leaching feed.
§ 99% of the heap leaching feed should be having a size passing a screen of 1 mm. F99 is 1mm.
- Extractant.
In case the PLS generated need to pass through a solvent extraction for enhance the copper g/l in the advance electrolyte and remove from the liquor the impurity such as Fe, Co, Mn, I will advise the LIX 984 having more affinity for copper rather than the nominated impurities.
- Number of days of leaching:
To carry a heap leaching and get good copper leaching efficiency, for 13% copper grade your need more day than 60 days to ensure good copper recovery and PLS ph of 1.5 suitable for SX plant efficiency and effectiveness.
- The acid consumption.
As the feed is malachite and azurite the specific acid consumption is 2.5 T of H2SO4/T Ore feed. Base on the gangue acid consumption you should consider at least 20 to 50 kg of H2SO4/T one feed. For this you need to carry out some lab test and found out the GAC.
- Electrolysis equipment.
For the pilot plant of 5T per day and low investment you need to do it yourself and a project team.
You need:
- FRP resin cell: 1000*2500*1700 mm = 50 cells.
- SS cathodes blanks: 1100*1000* 5 mm = 16 number per cell total of 800 SS cathodes blanks
- Anode Pb-Sn-Ca: 1100*1000*6mm = 17 number per cell total of 960 Number
- PP plate: 100*2500*12 mm: 55numbers
- Cathode bus bars: 100*2500*15 mm :55 numbers
- Capping board: 100*2500*25 mm 55 number
- Inlet Cell valve: 2inch: 50
- Out let cell valve: 2 inch: 50
- Inlet HDPE pipe: 2 inch 200 m
- Out let HDPE pipe: 4 inch 200m
- Inlet cell PLS feed pump: 4/3 SS pump. 2 numbers
- Circulation PLS pump:4/3 SS pump 2 numbers
You can notice, I have developed a leaching process for coarse low grade ore having 0.8 to 1% Cu grade better than a heap leaching and getting 75% Copper efficiency better than in heap leaching and good profile impurity in the PLS and the PLS does not need a SX plant and good leaching time the PLS generated is 15 g/l copper after 24 hours of the process. And good copper cathode LME grade. The process is at commercial scales test and run smoothly . The process developed is WBOLPT ( Waste to best ore leaching process technology). In case you are interested this to find an application in your project let me your intent and will openly try to help you.
Thanks and best regard
KM
This answer was emailed to me (David)
by https://redesign.911metallurgist.com/profile/Kashiw+Mumb/
PS: About the heap feed size, the F99 1 mm was tried trough pilot plant was giving good leaching efficiency after proper agglomeration. But in your case you can try for a size between 1mm to 20 mm. as the grade is too high 13% copper, you should monitor carefully the grade in the leach reject and ensure that you are not losing much copper in the reject.
I have a proposed pilot project for copper processing (Azurite and Malachite). Capacity for the project is 5 tonnes per day where we want to do heap leach and tank leaching. Type of acid to be used is dilute sulfuric acid. My inquiry is whats the optimum molar concentration of the acid? crushing size? no of days for leaching? Whats do i need to carryout the electrolysis equipment?
The concentration for the ore is 13% copper.