Research on Reinforcing Acid Leaching of a Refractory Copper Oxide Ore with High Content of Slime and Iron Minerals
The characteristics of Yangla copper oxide ore and acid leaching of this copper ore were investigated. The results indicate direct dump acid leaching of raw ore is not feasible for the treatment of this copper ore in practice. Sieve sizing-warming-stirring-acid leaching process was employed for the treatment of the fine grain materials below 1m, while 66.19% copper leaching efficiency and10.92 t H2SO4 consumption for per ton are obtained. Dump acid leaching process was employed for the treatment of the coarse grain materials above 1 mm, while 68.65% copper leaching efficiency and 15.43 t H2SO4 consumption for per ton copper are obtained. Key techniques are that sieve sizing process strictly controls the content of fine grain materials in dump leaching process and the searches ability of H2SO4 for the internal copper ore is improved, while warming-stirring-acid leaching process reinforces the copper leaching efficiency of fine grain materials. The proposed in this paper will be of benefit to the utilization of similar refractory copper oxide ore with high content of slime and iron minerals.