Bioleaching of low-grade copper sulfide ores by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans

The grown conditions of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans were investigated,and then experiments were conducted to research the bioleaching behaviors of crude ore of copper sulfide and hand-picked concentrates of chalcopyrite by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans.The experimental results show that the bacteria grow best when the temperature is(30±1) °C and the pH value is 2.0.The bacteria concentration is 2.24×107 mL-1 in this condition.It is found that the copper extraction yield is affected by the inoculum size and the pulp density and the extraction yield increases as the inoculum size grows.The bioleaching rates reach their highest point in sulfide copper and chalcopyrite with a pulp density of 5% and 10%,respectively.Column flotation experiments of low-grade copper sulfide ores show that the bioleaching recovery reaches nearly 45% after 75 days.

Bioleaching of low-grade copper sulfide ore by extremely thermoacidophilic consortia at 70℃in column reactors

The effects of introducing M.sedula derivatives having different Cu^2+-resistance on bioleaching capacity of a defined consortium(consisting of A.brierleyi DSM1651 and M.hakonensis HO1-1)were studied in column reactors at 70℃.Introducing M.sedula copA mutant,a copper sensitive derivative,only had negligible effects on bioleaching.While introducing M.sedula ARS50-2,a Cu^2+resistant strain,substantially consolidated bioleaching process,with 27.77%more copper recovered after 58 d of bioleaching.Addition of M.sedula ARS50-2 likely enhanced the sulfur oxidation capacity of consortium after the 24th day under the Cu^2+stress.The majority of extreme thermoacidophiles were attached on minerals surface as indicated by quantitative PCR(qPCR)data.Successions of microbial community of extremely thermoacidophilic consortia that attached on surface of minerals were different from those in leachate.M.hakonensis HO1-1 was the dominant species attached on minerals surface in each column reactor throughout bioleaching process.The sessile M.sedula ARS50-2 remained as a major species till the 34th day.A.brierleyi DSM1651 was the most abundant planktonic species in leachate of each column reactor.These results highlight that higher Cu^2+-resistance is a beneficial trait for extreme thermoacidophiles to process copper minerals.

Mechanism of Mg2+ dissolution from olivine and serpentine: Implication for bioleaching of high-magnesium nickel sulfide ore at elevated pH

To inhibit the dissolution of Mg^2+ during the bioleaching process of high-magnesium nickel sulfide ore, the effect of major bioleaching factors on the dissolution of Mg^2+ from olivine and serpentine was investigated and kinetics studies were carried out. The results indicated that the dissolution rate-controlling steps are chemical reaction for olivine and internal diffusion for serpentine. The most influential factor on the dissolution of Mg^2+ from olivine and serpentine was temperature, followed by p H and particle size. A novel method of bioleaching at elevated pH was used in the bioleaching of Jinchuan ore. The results showed that elevated pH could significantly reduce the dissolution of Mg^2+ and acid consumption along with slightly influencing the leaching efficiencies of nickel and cobalt. A model was used to explain the leaching behaviors of high-magnesium nickel sulfide ore in different bioleaching systems. The model suggested that olivine will be depleted eventually, whereas serpentine will remain because of the difference in the rate-controlling steps. Bioleaching at elevated pH is a suitable method for treating high-magnesium nickel sulfide ores.

Acid equilibrium during bioleaching of alkaline low-grade sulfide copper ore

This article reports the study on acid equilibrium during bioleaching of alkaline low-grade copper sulfide ore. Adding auxiliary agents 1# （sulfur） and 2# （pyrite） makes bacterial leaching of copper and acid production carried out simultaneously because the auxiliary agents can be oxidized by bacteria and the oxidation products involve acid. The acid required for dissolving alkaline gangue during bacterial leaching is produced, and acid equilibrium is reached during the ore bio-leaching. The recovery of copper reaches more than 95%.

Application of response surface methodology in optimization of bioleaching parameters for high-magnesium nickel sulfide ore

The response surface methodology(RSM)was used to optimize the operating parameters during the bioleaching of Jinchuan high-magnesium nickel sulfide ore.The particle size,acid addition,pulp density and inoculation amount were chosen as the investigated parameters.To maximize the leaching efficiency of nickel,copper,cobalt and minimize the dissolution of magnesium and iron ions,the model suggested a combination of optimal parameters of particles less than 0.074 mm being 72.11%,sulfuric acid addition being 300 kg/t,pulp density being 5%and inoculation amount being 12.88%.Under the conditions,the average results of three parallel experiments were 89.43%of nickel leaching efficiency,36.78%of copper leaching efficiency,84.07%of cobalt leaching efficiency,49.19%of magnesium leaching efficiency and 0.20 g/L of iron concentration.The model indicated that the most significant factor in response of the leaching efficiency of valuable metal is the particle size,and the most significant factor in response to the leaching efficiency of harmful ions(Mg2+)is the amount of sulfuric acid addition.And according to the suggested models,no significance of the interaction effect between particle size and acid addition was shown.Under the optimized parameters suggested by models,the valuable metals could be separated from harmful ions during the bioleaching process.

STUDY ON GREY FORECASTING MODEL OF COPPER EXTRACTION RATE WITH BIOLEACHING OF PRIMARY SULFIDE ORE

A model GM （grey model） （1,1） for forecasting the rate of copper extraction during the bioleaching of primary sulphide ore was established on the basis of the mathematical theory and the modeling process of grey system theory. It was used for forecasting the rate of copper extraction from the primary sulfide ore during a laboratory microbial column leaching experiment. The precision of the forecasted results were examined and modified via ＂posterior variance examination＂. The results show that the forecasted values coincide with the experimental values. GM （1,1） model has high forecast accuracy; and it is suitable for simulation control and prediction analysis of the original data series of the processes that have grey characteristics, such as mining, metallurgical and mineral processing, etc. The leaching rate of such copper sulphide ore is low. The grey forecasting result indicates that the rate of copper extraction is approximately 20% even after leaching for six months.

Enhanced copper recovery from low grade copper sulfide ores through bioleaching using residues produced by fermentation of agricultural wastes

Effects of residues produced by agricultural wastes fermentation(AWF)on low grade copper sulfide ores bioleaching,copper recovery,and microbial community were investigated.The results indicated that adding appropriate bulk of AWF made contributions to low grade copper sulfide ores bioleaching,which may be mainly realized through reducing the passivation layer formed by Fe3+hydrolysis.Improved copper recovery(78.35%)and bacteria concentration(9.56×10^(7)cells·mL^(−1))were yielded in the presence of 5 g·L^(−1)AWF.The result of 16S rDNA analysis demonstrated that microbial community was differentiated by adding AWF.Bacteria proportion,such as Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans,Moraxella osloensis,and Lactobacillus acetotolerans changed distinctly.Great difference between samples was showed according to beta diversity index,and the maximum value reached 0.375.Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans accounted for the highest proportion throughout the bioleaching process,and that of sample in the presence of 5 g·L^(−) AWF reached 28.63%.The results should show reference to application of agricultural wastes and low grade copper sulfide ores.

The Mechanism of Structural Control of Ore Formation and Geochemical Characteristics in the Massive Sulfide Deposits of the Wushan Copper Ore Field,Jiangxi

The ore-controlling mechanism of the bedding fault system in the massive sulfide deposits of the Wushancopper orefield may be generalized as the control of ore deposition by optimum surface in an ore-formingstructural trap. The mechanism has three major features: (1) timing of mineralization; (2) positioning of hostformation; and (3) dependence of ore-controlling structure on properties of rocks. The 'optimum surface' is adivisional structural plane which marks obvious difference in physical, chemical and mechanical properties andis favorable for mineralization. It is also a unity of structures. lithofacies and orebodies. The structural and geochemical characteristics of the ore deposits indicate the migration trend of the ma-jor characteristic clements in the ore-controlling fault belt: elements with a small radius (Si, Fe, Mg and Al)moved towards and concentrated at the center of the belt while large-radius ones (Ca, K and Na) were remotefrom the center.

Mechanochemical sulfidization of a mixed oxide-sulphide copper ore by co-grinding with sulfur and its effect on the flotation efficiency

Mechanochemical sulfidization of a mixed sulfide/oxide copper ore by co-grinding with sulfur and additives including Mg(NO3)2 and Fe(NO3)3 salts and iron,aluminum and magnesium powders was investigated for the first time.Also,the influence of sulfidization during the wet-milling process was examined on the separation efficiency and recovery of copper in detail.The results demonstrated that co-grinding with sulfur solely had the best flotation performance at the value of 0.5 wt.%and it was attributed to the possible existence of S\\O bonding on copper oxides surfaces.In addition,adding magnesium nitrate salt,magnesium powder,iron nitrate salt and aluminum powder as additive associated with 0.5 wt%sulfur into ball milling caused the flotation improvement at the amounts of 0.2 wt%,0.2 wt%,0.5 wt%and 0.5 wt%,respectively.Also,the effect of grinding time and sulfidization pH with 0.5 wt%sulfur solely was determined and pH s of 7.5 to 8.5 gave the best results.The highest recovery(75.76%)and separation efficiency(63.44%)were achieved at pH of 7.5 and 8.5,respectively.

Generation process of FeS and its inhibition mechanism on iron mineral reduction in selective direct reduction of laterite nickel ore

Numerous studies have demonstrated that Na2SO4 can significantly inhibit the reduction of iron oxide in the selective reduction process of laterite nickel ore. FeS generated in the process plays an important role in selective reduction, but the generation process of FeS and its inhibition mechanism on iron reduction are not clear. To figure this out, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy analyses were conducted to study the roasted ore. The results show that when Na2SO4 is added in the roasting, the FeO content in the roasted ore increases accompanied by the emergence of FeS phase. Further analysis indicates that NaeS formed by the reaction of Na2SO4 with CO reacts with SiO2 at the FeO surface to generate FeS and Na2Si2Os. As a result, a thin film forms on the surface of FeO, hindering the contact between reducing gas and FeO. Therefore, the reduction of iron is depressed, and the FeO content in the roasted ore increases.

Well-controlled column bioleaching of a low-grade copper ore by a novel equipment

For the low-grade copper sulfide ores with 0.99% of copper, of which 41.5% was primary copper sulfide, and 54.5% was secondary copper sulfide, well-controlled column bioleaching on a novel equipment was carried out to investigate the optimal conditions of pre-leaching, particle sizes of ores, temperature, spray intensity and strain consortium. Results show that copper extraction of 91.11% can be obtained after 90 d with the optimal p H value of pre-leaching of 0.8; the p H values of pre-leaching significantly affect the final copper extractions. Copper extractions of 93.11%, 91.04% and 80.45% can be obtained for the bioleaching of ores with particles size of 5-8 mm, 5-15 mm and 5-20 mm, respectively. Copper extractions are 83.77% and 91.02% for bioleaching under the conditions of room temperature and 35 oC. Copper extractions are 77.25%, 85.45% and 91.12% for the bioleaching when flow rate of spray was 5 L/（h·m2）, 10 L/（h·m2） and 15 L/（h·m2）, respectively. Additionally, the strain consortium C3 is the best among the four strain consortia in bioleaching. By considering the energy consumption, the optimal conditions of bioleaching in this work are determined as p H of pre-leaching of 0.8, particles size of 5-15 mm, temperature of 35 ℃, spray intensity of 15 L/（h·m2）, and strain consortium C3.

Effect of Desliming on Flotation Response of Kansanshi Mixed Copper Ore

The Kansanshi mixed copper sulfide-oxide ore contains significant proportions of fine material manifesting in a variety of processing challenges. This paper presents the work which was carried out to evaluate the efficacy of desliming in improving the flotation response of the ore. Two modes of desliming were investigated, namely;sieving and elutriation after which the deslimed material was subjected to Kansanshi standard laboratory flotation conditions. The minimum copper feed grade for the mixed copper ore was 0.5% Total Copper (TCu). The outcome of this work has shown that desliming improves the flotation response of the Kansanshi mixed copper ore. At a rougher copper concentrate grade of 8%, copper metal recoveries obtained with desliming were in excess of 70% compared to 58% achieved with baseline tests without desliming. It was further observed that desliming resulted in improved flotation rates for the sulfide minerals. For a flotation time of 3 minutes, recoveries of 69% and 74% were obtained with elutriation and sieving respectively compared to 58% recovery for baseline tests. From the same results it was also evident that, of the two modes of desliming investigated, sieving yielded better performance than elutriation.

Discussion on the interrelationship among Cu-Ni sulfide deposits,mafic volcanic rocks and intrusive rocks in the Sipu region,northern Guangxi,China

The Sipu region of North Guangxi is located in the southwest of the "Jiangnan Ancient Land",where there are developed the oldest stratum in southern China,the Proterozoic Sipu Group,and there are also largely ex-posed mafic intrusive rocks,mafic volcanic rocks and copper-nickel sulfide deposits.Both mafic intrusive rocks and volcanic rocks are rich in MgO(6.52%-26.39%),but poor in K2O(0.05%-1.00%) and TiO2(0.33%-0.89%).They are also rich in trace elements such as Rb and Ba while poor in Ta,Nb and the like.Both of them have medium con-tents of rare-earth elements,30.26×10-6-126.71×10-6,in which LREEs are slightly rich with ΣLREE/ΣHREE of 1.35-2.46,δEu 0.79-1.33,displaying weak or no δEu anomaly,with the same geochemical features.The right-inclined distribution patterns and the features show that magma would be formed at the comagmatic un-diagenetic stage.All studies show that mafic intrusive rocks and volcanic rocks are the products of the same source region evolving in different stages and times.The copper-nickel sulfide deposits are characterized by liquation,crys-tallization and fractionation of mafic rocks,and have some interrelations with mafic intrusive rocks and volcanic rocks with respect to magmatic genesis.

The 982 Ma Re-Os age of copper-nickel sulfide ores in the Baotan area,Guangxi and its geological significance

Re-Os dating on copper-nickel sulfide ores from the Baotan area, Guangxi, yielded an ore-forming age of 982±21 Ma(2σ), which demonstrates that copper-nickel sulfide deposits and their related mafic-ultramafic rocks occurred in the same period of time with the ophiolites in northeastern Jiangxi. Both of them are the products of collision-convergence between the Cathaysian plate and Yangtze plate and the subsequent extensional environment. Calculation of the γOs of the 982 Ma copper-nickel sulfide ores and its correlation with Re/Os indicate that injection-type massive ores display lower γOs values(-15.6 to -8.2) and lower Re/Os ratios(0.32 to 0.43), while basal liquation-type ores have γOs= -27.9 to -7.3 and Re/Os=5.36 to 11.24. This suggests that these copper-nickel sulfide ores and their related mafic-ultramafic rocks were derived from a Re-depleted mantle source and that contamination with some crustal material occurred during their intrusion.

内蒙古中部乌兰陶勒盖铜镍矿床形成时代与岩浆源区

内蒙古中部存在多条镁铁-超镁铁质成矿岩带,其中位于黄花滩—小南山镁铁-超镁铁质成矿岩带中的乌兰陶勒盖中型铜镍硫化物矿床是近年来区域镍找矿的新突破。然而目前关于该矿床的形成时代、岩浆源区与构造背景研究属空白,对其开展深入研究有利于实现区域镍成矿规律总结及下一步找矿部署。本文选择乌兰陶勒盖铜镍硫化物矿床中的辉长岩与煌斑岩开展了系统的LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb定年、Hf同位素组成、全岩元素与Sr-Nd同位素组成分析。结果表明,辉长岩206Pb/238U加权平均年龄为(270.8±3.2)Ma,煌斑岩锆石U-Pb年龄为251.5~250.9 Ma,依次对应于古亚洲洋最终闭合后、西伯利亚板块与华北克拉通碰撞后伸展两期构造事件。辉长岩SiO_(2)含量为47.29%~51.45%,Na2O+K2O含量为0.97%~3.08%,属于亚碱性系列。辉长岩有相对较高的(87Sr/86Sr)i(0.7199~0.7239)与较低的εNd(t)值(-12.18~-9.55),指示岩浆源区系EMⅡ型富集岩石圈地幔。煌斑岩具有较低的SiO_(2)含量(47.72%~52.15%)及高的K2O含量(4.47%~9.43%),属于钙碱性钾质、过钾质煌斑岩;富集大离子亲石元素(LILE)和轻稀土元素(LREE),亏损Nb、Ta和Ti等高场强元素(HFSE),εHf(t)均为负值(-20.0~-2.9),表现出富集型岩石圈地幔受到俯冲流体交代作用的特征。

金川铜镍硫化矿选矿降镁药剂研究进展

金川铜镍硫化矿作为超大型铜镍矿床,资源丰富,除主要元素镍外,还有铜、钴及铂族金属元素伴生。随着常年开采,金川铜镍硫化矿矿石贫、细、杂的情况也愈发明显。由于采用选冶联合的铜镍分离方式,在以易浮的蛇纹石为主要含硅酸盐脉石情况下,随着原矿的不断贫化,仍需要保证MgO的合格,这为选矿工作带来非常大的难度和挑战。金川铜镍硫化矿浮选降镁问题作为世界性难题,由此得到广泛关注,针对其降镁问题的选矿药剂也在不断开发中。但在实际生产过程中,往往需要结合现场生产情况和实际生产成本,有些药剂对企业效益提升往往不大。总结阐述了金川公司往年针对铜镍硫化矿降镁药剂的研究进展,以及其他含氧化镁矿物降镁的选矿药剂的发展情况,望能给广大选矿工作者在铜镍硫化矿降镁方面提供技术参考。

硫化镍精矿常压酸浸试验研究

针对浮选获得的硫化镍精矿,采用常压氯化物-氧气强化硫酸浸出工艺进行处理,研究镍、铜和铁的浸出行为,考察原矿粒度、硫酸用量、浸出温度、通氧量、氯离子浓度、反应时间和液固比等因素的影响,确定硫化镍精矿常压酸浸的最佳工艺条件。结果表明,最佳工艺条件下,原矿粒度小于20 μm的颗粒占比为81.05%,硫酸用量为500 kg/t矿,浸出温度为95 ℃,通氧量为300 mL/(L·min),氯离子浓度为30 g/L,浸出时间为10 h,液固比为5,镍、铜和铁的浸出率分别为95.79%、93.59%和19.04%。

复杂硫化铜镍渣中温氧压浸铜镍—同步沉铁研究

针对复杂硫化铜镍渣进行了中温氧压浸铜镍—同步沉铁试验,查明了硫化铜镍渣中主要元素的存在形式,考察了氧压浸出工艺条件对铜、镍、铁、硫浸出率的影响。获得硫化铜镍渣高效浸铜镍—同步沉铁的最佳工艺参数为:硫酸(98%)20 g(即每吨铜镍渣硫酸200 kg)、浸出温度170℃、氧分压0.4 MPa、液固比5 mL/g、浸出时间5 h,在该条件下,铜、镍、铁、硫的浸出率分别为98.73%、98.86%、26.69%、93.17%,浸出液残酸浓度1.28 g/L,浸出液中铜、镍、铁质量浓度分别为77.04、18.80、0.67 g/L。

低品位高泥高镁硫化铜镍矿浮选试验研究

对新疆某铜镍矿山低品位高泥高镁硫化铜镍矿进行了浮选试验研究。以羧甲基纤维素钠和水玻璃为组合抑制剂、以丁基黄药和丁铵黑药为组合捕收剂,采用铜镍混合浮选-铜镍分离工艺流程,闭路试验可获得铜品位25.11%、铜回收率79.90%、含氧化镁2.02%的铜精矿以及镍品位6.98%、镍回收率75.01%、含氧化镁5.32%的镍精矿,实现了铜、镍的高效回收和有效分离。

ACTIVATION MECHANISM OF AlCl_3 DURING THE LEACHING OF Cu-Ni ORE WITH FeCl_3

After Cu-Ni ore powder pre-soaked in AlCl3 solution.the leaching ratios of copper andnickel can increase obviously.By X-ray diffraction analyses,electron energy spectrum analysesand electrochemical experiments,it is affirmed that,the activation of aluminum ion includestwo aspects:one is the surface change of the ore by the absorption of hydrolysates,and the oth-er is the change of semiconductor characteristics of the metal sulfides by impurity aluminum ionentering the lattice,so that leaching reactions are accelerated.