![]() Tailings (left-over earth) containing copper oxide are routed to leaching tanks or are returned to the surrounding terrain. Minerals are concentrated into a slurry that is about 15% copper. During the same processing stage molybdenum, as bi-sulfide, is obtained, which is then processed to attain the commercial form of molybdenum trioxide. The first commercial copper product, in an increasing chain of added value, is the copper concentrate, which main components are copper, iron and sulfide. Sulfide ores are moved to a concentrating stage, while oxide ores are routed to leaching tanks. The beginning for all copper is to mine sulfide and oxide ores through digging or blasting and then crushing it to walnut-sized pieces.Ĭrushed ore is ball or rod-milled in large, rotating, cylindrical machines until it becomes a powder usually containing less than 1 percent copper. Mainly copper goes through different stages and degrees of refinement, to a lesser extent the byproducts such as molybdenum, sulfuric acid and precious metals that come with copper in the ore.Ĭopper is processed in several stages from extraction and crushing of the ore to electrolytic refining, which allows obtaining 99.99% pure Copper Cathodes. Copper concentrates are then submitted to a final filtration and drying process to decrease the humidity to 8-9%. The concentrates from different regions have approximately between 24% up to 36% of copper. The production of concentrates implies the crushing and later milling of the ore down to a particle size allows releasing copper by flotation. Concentrates are the raw material for all copper smelters, which by processing it obtain an impure form of metallic copper, anode or blister copper, which is later used to produce high purity refined copper. For special native copper bearing ore bodies or sections of ore bodies rich in supergen native copper, this mineral can be recovered by a simple gravity circuit.Ĭopper concentrate is the first commercial product of the copper production line and is composed of approximately equal parts of copper, iron and sulfide. For sulfide ores, both secondary (supergene) and primary (unweathered), froth flotation is used to physically separate ore from gangue. For oxide ores, a hydrometallurgical liberation process is normally undertaken, which uses the soluble nature of the ore minerals to the advantage of the metallurgical treatment plant. Subsequent steps depend on the nature of the ore containing the copper. The process of liberation of copper ores depends upon whether they are oxide or sulfide ores. These particles are then separated to remove gangue, thereafter followed by a process of physical liberation of the ore minerals from the rock. The first stage of any process within a metallurgical treatment circuit is accurate grinding or comminution, where the rock is crushed to produce small particles (<100 μm) consisting of individual mineral phases. A key objective in the metallurgical treatment of any ore is the separation of ore minerals from gangue minerals within the rock. The average grade of copper ores in the 21st century is below 0.6% copper, with a proportion of economic ore minerals (including copper) being less than 2% of the total volume of the ore rock. Most copper ores contain only a small percentage of copper metal bound up within valuable ore minerals, with the remainder of the ore being unwanted rock or gangue minerals, typically silicate minerals or oxide minerals for which there is often no value. Sulfur dioxide gas, for example, is captured and turned into sulfuric acid - which is then used in the extraction process. For economic and environmental reasons, many of the byproducts of extraction are reclaimed. Finally, it undergoes various refining processes, the final one being electrolysis. To do this, the ore is crushed then it must be roasted to convert sulfides to oxides, which are smelted to produce matte. Methods have evolved and vary with country depending on the ore source, local environmental regulations, and other factors.Īs in all mining operations, the ore must usually be beneficiated (concentrated). ![]() This conversion consists of a series of chemical, physical, and electrochemical processes. Copper extraction techniques refers to the methods for obtaining copper from its ores.
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