MINERAL PROCESSING and COPPER EXRACTIVE METALLURGY Complete Metal Recovery

Processing and smelting of copper containing sulphide concentrates result in the accumulation of impurities into various process streams. All primary copper smelters and refineries around the world produce significant amounts of slag, dust, sludge, residues and others, which contain copper and precious metals. The recovery of these valuable metals is essential to the overall economics of the smelting process. Physical, chemical and mineralogical characterization of particular slag and Cottrell dusts from primary smelters and Dore furnace (TBRC) slag and Pressure Leached Anode slimes from a copper refinery have been carried out to understand the basic behind the recovery processes. Various process options have been evaluated and adapted for the treatment of slag from different smelting furnaces and Cottrell dusts as well as the intermediate products from copper refineries. Besides the hydro- or pyre-metallurgical treatments, the above mentioned physical separation options such as magnetic, gravity separation, flotation and precipitation flotation processes have been successfully identified and adapted as the possible process options to produce a Cu-rich or precious metal-rich concentrates for in-house recycling and other valued by-product for further treatment. The results of laboratory, pilot plant and production operations are presented, and incorporation of several alternative flowsheet is discussed in this paper.